My Fair Dragon Lady
by EtincelleD'OR
Summary: Cold hearted and arrogant phonetics expert Seth bets Atem that he cannot take a 'lowest of the low' flowergirl with a vile accent and pass her off as a princess at the Embassy Ball in 6 months time. What will drop? The penny? Or Seth's wintry heart? SxK
1. Learn how to speak!

_**My Fair Dragon Lady.**_

**WildEm: This isn't really like anything I've done before, I'm gonna try to stay off the magic topic lol. This is an adaptation of the famous film "My Fair Lady", which is about a cold-hearted and arrogant phonetics professor Henry Higgins who bets his friend Colonel Pickering that he can't take a working-class London cockney-accented flower girl and pass her off as a duchess in six months, but he falls for her along the way.**

**The cast is as follows:**

**Kisara Eliza**

**Seth Professor Henry Higgins**

**Atem Pickering/Pharaoh**

**Akunadin Henry's mother (Seto's father)**

**Isis Henry's mother (Kisara's comforter - Henry's mother has a change of attitude towards Eliza, and I couldn't make Akunadin nice of Isis nasty, so I went for the happy medium.)**

**Happy reading and tell me what you think!!**

**I've re-uploaded this fic with PAGEBREAKs in, because when changed the format, the 3 pound signs no longer showed up, so my fic looked like crap. So here I'm trying to fix it!!**

**PAGEBREAK**

"That was fantastic! I told you this was not a bad idea!!"

"Maybe so, but you can tell me that when we get back to the palace uncaught. If Akunadin finds out we went to the theatre dressed down... He may just kill us."

"Oh Seth don't be such a wet blanket!!"

"I think I should find that quite difficult."

"Why? Why are you pointing up...? Oh."

The teenage Pharaoh suddenly realised what his cousin meant when his attire began to cling to his skin with a potential mercilessness that had been seen many a time by young women in their dreams. His cheek muscles relaxed sadly, letting his mouth droop into a frown like a child feeling sorry for themselves. He turned his back to it. The young High Priest dismissed this childish behaviour with an unattentive turn of his head, wrapping his white cloak around himself and straining his neck for a glance of their carriage. Or, unfortunately, their lack of one.

"Where is that Rê-damned driver??" Seth spat, with almost as much force as the pelting precipitation, as the two took shelter beneath the canapy of the theatre.

Atem chuckled. "For a priest who specialises in languages, phonetics and articulate speech, your own curses are enough to make Osiris swear, cousin."

"Can you blame me?" he asked drearily, earning another snort from Atem.

Working-class citizens were not an uncommon sight at the theatre, for where there was a theatre, there were rich people, and where there were rich people, there was money to be gained. It had become fashionable in recent years in Hwt-Ka-Ptah for girls to make money by picking flowers from wherever they could and selling them for a silver coin a piece in the streets. How effective this could have been all depended on the generosity of the passing individuals, and despite that these girls' presences were rather often resented by said individuals, neither one of the young men, or anybody around them turned a head when they heard the words:

"Oi say, cap'n, baw ya flahr orf a pore gel..."

Of course, sometimes flower-girls are resented more than others, and this was what turned heads at this particular theatre. There was a shuffling of feet, an exclamation of "get out of our way girl", and then something soft hit the ground, followed by a gasp.

"Well, if yer'd done yer due'y boiy 'im as a woife should, yer wouldn'' le' 'im spoil a pore gel's flahrs 'nd then run away withou' payin'!!"

Both young men turned their heads and strained their necks to see a man and woman a little older than then themselves hop into a carriage and drive off, leaving a flower-girl kneeling over a basket of ruined tulips in the wet mud.

"Yer've ruined moiy full doiy's wages." she said quietly to the carriage, as if they had just destroyed her soul, as the wheel flung dirt into her face.

Seth observed her with interest. "What an odd girl." he trailed.

"What on _Earth _does she look like?"

"And what the _Hell _does she sound like?" he injected.

With her pearly skin, steely hair and blue eyes, she stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the tanned, dark haired Egyptians. Seth had never encountered a person with eyes as blue as his own before, but could not think further when he thought of the girl's voice, vile, was the only word for it.

Atem dug his hand into his moneybag casually and took himself over to her, dropping a few coins into her near wrecked wicker basket. She looked up at him as if she was being towered over by Rê.

"Excuse me miss, but a suspicious charac'er be'oi-nd tha' pilla is takin' down ev'ry blessed word yer're sayin'."

The girl looked away from the dressed-down Pharaoh and up at the man who had spoken to her, however only to see his retreating back. She lept up and practically threw herself around the pillar, coming face to face with a dressed-down Seth, who was writing on a small piece of papyrus.

She glared at him fervantly. "An' wha' yer toike down me words for? 'Ow der I know yer tuk me down righ'? Yer jus' show me what yew wro' abou' me."

Seth remained expressionless, and held the papyrus in the air, swivelling it around so she could see it. The font he had used was not even proper hieroglyphic. Atem, with a peak over he shoulder, recognised it as a phonetic alphabet he had seen Seth use before.

She peered at it, and scowled. "Wha's tha'? Ain' proper wri'in', I can'' read tha'."

"I can." he said, wrinkling his nose slightly and reading back to her from his notes of what she said with the exact same exaggerated pronounciation: "'Oi say, Cap'n, baw ya flahr orf a pore gel'."

There was a silence. She tilted her head to the side. "Oh, it's 'cause ah called 'im 'Cap'n.' " she said, in an honest yet ridiculous realisation.

"Now go home and leave us be, you wretch." he spat.

The girl's jaw dropped. "I've a roigh' to be 'ere if Oi loike, same as yew."

Seth sniffed. "A woman that makes such a disgusting and depressing noise, has no right to be anywhere, no right to live. Whatever happened to the jolly human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech. Your native language is the language of Tutankhamun, of Nefertiti and the Gods, don't sit there, crooning like a bilious pigeon!"

The girl sat there silently, her mouth forming a tiny pout of determination - the only thing that was keeping her from cowering.

"Simple phonetics. The science of speech. That's my profession. Anyone can spot an Grecian or a Roman by his brogue, but I can place a man within six miles. I can place him within two miles in Hwt-Ka-Ptah. Sometimes within two streets."

"Gah!" she scoffed, "Be' it's awl lies!! Be' yer couldn' ' tell where me birfplace were if Oi gave yer money for it!!"

Seth, now becoming thoroughly angered by this woman who had no idea who she was talking to, narrowed his eyes and looked down his nose at her. "I would identify your birthplace as the _slums_ in west _Kul Elna_."

Tears began to slide down her cheeks. "No!! Tha's not true!! Oi'm a good gel, Oi am!"

Seth looked down at her spitefully, before he opened his mouth, each word rolling from his tongue with the correctness and procision of no other, his sharp, mysterious and yet beautiful voice sending shivers up her spine:

"Look at her, a prisoner of the gutters,  
Condemned by every syllable she utters!  
By right she should be taken out and hung,  
For the cold-blooded murder of the Egyptian tongue..."

"That's a little extreme, wouldn't you say Seth?" Atem said, but he wasn't finished.

"This is what the Egyptian population  
Calls an elementary education...  
It's 'ow' and 'garn' that keep her in her place,  
Not her wretched clothes and dirty face!"

Why can't the Egyptians teach their children how to speak?  
This verbal class distinction, by now, should be antique!"

He paused and turned to his cousin.

"If you spoke as she does, cousin, instead of the way you do,  
Why, you might be selling flowers too..."

"Well I..."

"Why can't the Egyptians teach their children how to speak?  
Norwegians learn Norwegian, the Greeks are taught their Greek!  
In Gaul every man knows his language from 'A' to 'Zed' -  
They don't care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly.  
Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.  
The Hebrews learn it backwards which is absolutely frightening.  
Use proper Egyptian, you're regarded as a freak.  
Oh, why can't the Egyptians -  
Why can't the Egyptians learn to speak??"

Atem raised his eyebrows. "Are you done?"

Seth didn't answer. He eyed the girl from head to toe again. If she had been a little less easy on the ears, and eyes - her strange hair and skin colour was a sight indeed, though not entirely a replusive one- he might have admitted silently to himself that she was actually slightly pretty. He grasped his chin lightly and hummed, before seemingly snapping out of his silent trance and addressing his cousin; "You see this creature with her curbstone Egyptian? The Egyptian that will keep her in the gutter 'til the end of her days? Well, cousin, in six months, I could pass her off as a princess at an Embassy Ball." she looked at him in confusion, "Yes, you squashed cabbage leaf. You disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns! You incarnate insult to the Egyptian language! I could pass you off as, ah, the Queen of Sheba, if I had the time to waste on such a down-trodden piece of filth as yourself, which I quite obviously do not. We shall take our leave." he said curtly, spotting their carriage turning around the corner of the street. He wacked his shoulder into hers are he passed her, nearly making her fall over and grasp her arm where a bruise was now forming.

Atem followed Seth with his usual grace and manners. "Good evening miss." he said, nodding to her briefly, and then striding past her.

Not even the whip-crack on the horse's flank, the sharp whinny and the rolling of carriage wheels could distract Kisara from her new and unpreviously explored trail of thought. She looked at her wavering reflection in a puddle. Was her voice really that ugly? It took a lot to hurt her feelings, she was used to treatment such as the tall man's, but was she really to be looked upon as worse than other folk, simply because of the way she sounded? The way she looked alone was giving her enough trouble as it was.

In a split second, faster than the strikes of lightning that pierced the dark sky, she had decided.

_"Let's see if 'e cun do as 'e boasts."_


	2. Wouldn't it be loverly'

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**WildEm: Hi people! Second chapter!!**

**Oh, I forgot the disclaimer, so here it is. I OWN NOTHING!! Except... actually I don't even entirely own the plot, let's see how it goes then.**

**...**

**Yeah I know I nicked the name 'Anck-Su-Namun' from 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns'. For people who haven't seen either of these films - there aren't many - 'Anck-Su-Namun' is pronounced 'An-ach-Soo-Nyah-moon' With the "ach" said like the Germans say it, like you you're trying to sigh but have a massive lump of phlegm in your throat. **

**'C' as in "**c**at"**

**'H' as in "**h**uh"**

**Say them at exactly the same time. Go on I dare you. That's how you do it lol!! **

**PAGEBREAK**

_**'Wouldn't it be loverly?'**_

_"Condemned by every syllable she speaks... _

_...Condemned by every syllable she speaks... _

_...Condemned by every syllable she speaks..."_

Even later that night the words still replayed again and again in Kisara's mind like the echo of a cry in a wide cavern, her heart's simple existance now questioning her without mercy.

_"...will keep her in the gutter 'til the end of her days... 'til the end of her days... 'til the end of her days..."_

The young man's appraisal used her as a human punchbag again and again. Her mouth began to form words to block out his insults and bragging, slowly more and more sound came out, and his voice became quieter and quieter and quieter. She took a deep breath of the night air, and cut it's silence with a blunt knife.

_"All I want is a room somewhere, far away from the cold night air.  
With one enormous chair; Oh wouldn't it be loverly?  
Lotsa good food for me to eat; Lots of coal makin' lots of heat.  
Warm face, warm 'ands, warm feet, Oh wouldn't it be loverly?  
Oh, so loverly sittin' abso-bloomin'-lutely still!  
I would never budge 'til Spring crept over my window sill.  
Someone's head restin' on my knee; Warm and tender as he can be,  
Who takes good care of me; Oh wouldn't it be loverly?  
Loverly,_

_Loverly, _

_Loverly, _

_Loverly." _

_**Two Days Later...**_

_Knock knock..._

"Enter."

Anck-Su-Namun, the head of household staff at the Imperial Palace entered into the High Priest's study, admitting Kisara into it's cool wake, a blissful contrast to the baking Egyptian sun.

"What is it." a voice snapped.

Anck-Su-Namun did not even flinch. Apparantly she was used to this treatment. "This girl wishes to see you, your Eminence."

Seth, now dressed in proper attire again, glanced up from his scroll of hieroglpyhs, his expression unaltering and brusquely dismissing Kisara. "And why on Earth have you brought her anywhere near me?" he said in his usual harsh tone.

Kisara gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand, looking to Anck-Su-Namun, and then back to Seth. "She didn'' tell me Oi'd be talkin' with the _High Priest,_ she didn''!!"

Both Seth and Anck-Su-Namun ignored her. "Well, she's quite a common girl, Majesty. Very common indeed. I should have sent her away only I thought perhaps you wanted her to speak for you."

"Oh, no, no, no. This is the girl I jotted down last night. She's no use. I've got all the records I want of west Kul Elna. I'm not going to waste another scroll on that. Now be off with you, I don't want you."

"Oi've come to ask for elacution lessons, Oi 'ave Majesty."

"Elocution, not elacution."

"Oi've come to ask for yew to teach me to speak loike a princess, Oi 'ave."

Seth smirked, and turned to his cousin. "Atem? Shall we ask this baggage to sit down or shall we just throw her out of the window?"

Kisara's face deteriorated into one of horror. "Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-ow-oo! Oi won't be called a baggage, not when Oi've offad to pay loike any lady!"

"What do you want here miss?" Atem asked.

Kisara drew herself up to as much height as she could muster. "I wan' to be a lady in a flahr shop 'stead o' sellin' at the theatre. But they won't take me unless Oi can talk more genteel." she jerked her head at Seth, "'E said 'e could teach me. Well, 'ere Oi am and ready to pay. Oi'm not askin' any favour - and 'e treats me as if I was dirt. Well Oi know wha' lessons cost as well as yew do, and Oi'm ready to pay!!"

"What is your name?" Seth inquired.

She curtsied. "Kisara, Majesty."

An undeniable smile pulled at Atem's lips as he remembered yesterday evening. "What about your boast that you could pass her off as a princess at the Embassy Ball, eh?" Seth turned his attention to Atem, "I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you make that good. I'll bet you all the expenses of the experiment that you can't do it. I'll even pay for the lessons. That is, of course, _if _you can."

Kisara curtsied. "Oh, you're real good. Thank yew Majesty."

Seth gave another crisp smirk. She was merely a beautiful instrument, an instrument in need of a good tuning up. The oppurtunity for Atem to pay his expenses and admit that he was without doubt the best was too good to turn down. "You know, it's almost irresistible. She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty."

"Oi ain't dirty!! Oi washed my face and hands before Oi come, I did." Kisara protested, "An' if Oi knew Oi'd be talkin' to yew, Oi'd a washed 'em twice, Oi would!!"

Seth slammed his hand down on the table, silencing the girl instantaneously. "I'll take it. I'll make a princess of this draggle-tailed guttersnipe!! We'll start today, now, this moment! Anck-Su-Namun!! Take her away, and clean her. Scrubbing brush, if it won't come off any other way. Is there a good fire in the kitchens?"

Anck-Su-Namun nodded. "Yes, but -"

Seth interrupted her. "Take all her clothes off and burn them and find her some new ones. Now!"

Kisara's arms flew around her waist. "You're no gentleman, you're not, to talk of such things! I'm a good girl, I am. And I know what the likes of you are, I do!!"

Seth did not even look at her again. "We want none of your slum prudery here, young woman. You've got to learn to behave like a princess. Now take her away, Anck-Su-Namun, and if she gives you any trouble, wallop her."


	3. A woman in my life'

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**WildEm: Heya, this is actually quite a popular fic, despite it's me writing it lol! Anyway here's chapter 3... **

**PAGEBREAK**

"The streets will be strewn with the bodies of men stabbing themselves for her sake before I've done with her." Seth announced proudly.

Kisara resisted his cold insults and stomped out, heading for the door. "Oi didn'' think this through, Oi didn''!"

"Think of it, Kisara. Think of the best food in the Kingdom, and horses, and gold, and rubies!" then, more 'tongue-in-cheek-ly', he said; "Kisara, you are to stay here for the next six months learning how to speak beautifully, like a lady in a florist shop. If you're good and do whatever you're told, you shall sleep in a proper bedroom, have lots to eat, and money to buy anything you so please and take have a horse of your own to ride wherever you so please. But _if_ you are naughty and idle, you shall sleep in the back kitchen amongst the black beetles, and be walloped by Anck-Su-Namun with a broomstick. At the end of six months, you shall go to the Embassy Ball, beautifully dressed. If the our guest the King of Grecia finds out that you're not a lady, I shall have you taken to the Dungeon, where your head will be cut off as a warning to other presumptuous flower girls. But if you are not found out, you shall have a present of, uh, seven-and-six to start life with a lady in a shop. If you refuse this offer, you will be the most ungrateful, wicked girl, and the Gods will weep for you."

"If I'd known what I would've let myself in for I wouldn't have come here. I've always been a good girl, I have, and I won't be put upon..."

Seth reiterated his confidence in the wager. "In six months, in three if she has a good ear and a quick tongue, I'll take her anywhere and I'll pass her off as anything. I'll make a queen of that barbarous wretch."

Anck-Su-Namun ushered her out of the study. "Come." she said, as monotonously as Kisara thought it was humanely possible to be. She led the unwashed girl into a grand new bedroom, while another servant girl emptied hot water into a bathtub in the adjoining bathroom.

"You know, you can't be a nice girl inside if you're dirty outside." Anck-Su-Namun adonished.

Kisara was struck by the awe of the room. "It's too good for the loikes of me. Oi shall be afraid to touch anythin'. Oi ain't a princess yet, you know."

**PAGEBREAK**

Meanwhile, Isis had heard the story from the servants - well, she had been eavesdropping on the servants, but that was the best way to get the gossip of the place. She entered the study without knocking, primarily to collect some papers from him, but also to interrogate him about the new arrival. She listened with great interest while Seth told her of his plans to pass her off as a princess, inserting a "yes", "um-hm" or "or course" now and then.

"You just wait." he finished.

"I hope there will be no..." Isis snapped her fingers whilt looking for the words, "I hope it's clearly understood that no advantage is to be taken of her position...This is no trifling matter."

Seth retaliated. "I find the moment that a woman attempts make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damned nuisance. And I find the moment that I see any interest in a woman, I become selfish and tyrannical. So here I am, a confirmed bachelor, and likely to remain so."

_I'm an ordinary man, who desires nothing more than just an ordinary chance,  
to live exactly as he likes, and do precisely what he wants.  
An average man am I, of no eccentric whim, Who likes to live his life, free of strife  
Doing whatever he thinks is best for him, Well, just an ordinary man. _

_But, let a woman in your life and your serenity is through  
She'll redecorate your home, from the cellar to the dome  
Then go to the enthralling fun of overhauling you  
Let a woman in your life, and you're up against a wall,  
Make a plan and you will find, she has something else in mind,  
And so rather than do either you do something else that neither likes at all. _

_You want to talk of Keats or Milton, she only wants to talk of love  
You go to see a play or ballet, and spend it searching for her glove  
Let a woman in your life and you invite eternal strife,  
Let them buy their wedding bands for those anxious little hands  
I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling, than to ever let a woman in my life... _

_"Let a woman in your life and you're plunging in a knife._

_Let the others of my sex tie the knot around their necks, _

_**I'd prefer a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition **_

_**Than to ever let a woman in my life."**_


	4. Dancing all night

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**WildEm: Hey guys, chapter 4, and don't forget to review!!**

**PAGEBREAK**

In his study, Seth had started Kisara on a harsh, excruciating regimen of pronunciation exercises. A metal diaphragm had been tightly fitted around her lungs as she pronounced vowels in a repetitive drill, a drum rotated by a servant girl charted her pronunciations on paper.

"Majesty, why d'Oi 'ave to ay this over an' over? When will yew let me stop?"

"When you do it properly, of course."

Kisara fell silent for a moment, before beginning vowels again. "Aeeeh... Eieeeh... Oiii..."

Seth slammed his hand down on the table, making both Kisara and the servant jump. "Look for Rê's sake woman!! It's 'A E I O U', not 'Aeh Eie Oi Ow Yew'!!" the High Priest intimidated his pupil further with behavioral techniques, "Kisara, I promise you you'll say your vowels correctly before this day is out or there'll be no Midfeast, no Duskfeast, and no Dawnfeast tomorrow!" he snapped, storming out and leaving the two girls smelling his smoke.

Kisara scowled.

_Just you wait High Priest Seth, just you wait! You'll be sorry, but your tears'll be too late!  
You'll be broke and I'll have money. Will I help you? Don't be funny.  
Just you wait, High Priest Seth, just you wait!... _

_Then they'll march you, Hm Ntjr to the wall,  
And the Pharaoh'll tell me: 'Kisara, sound the call.'  
As they raise their crossbows higher, I'll shout 'Ready! Aim! Fire!'  
Oh-ho-ho, High Priest Seth, Down you'll go, High Priest Seth.  
Just you wait! _

The servant girl looked on in amazement, and began to clap her hands readily. "Wow!" she said, "No one's ever spoken that way about the Hm Ntjr before."

Kisara blinked at her. "Seriously?"

"Rê no!"

"Well someone oughtta!"

The girl laughed. "I'm Mana by the way. Nice to meet you."

Kisara smiled. "Well loikewise. Are you a servant here?"

Mana shook her head. "Well, um, I'm, sort of, supposed to be, in my spare time. I'm Priest Mahado's apprentice!" she said proudly, putting her fists to her hips and closing her eyes victoriously.

"Wow. You can do Magic?"

She practically jumped up and down on the spot. "You bet! I just learned how to summon Kas!! It's really easy! Do you want to see mine?"

Kisara wasn't about to say that she didn't know what a 'Ka' was, so she just nodded. "Alright." she said.

Mana clapped her hands excitedly and conjured a book into her hand. Murmuring a few words, her shadow that was thrown onto the wall behind her began to change colour as she chanted. Out of the shadow came a bright white light, which blinded Kisara completely.

Throwing her hands in front of her face, she waited for the flashing lights which raced across the backs of her eyelids to fade, before she opened them again, coming face to face with the Dark Magician Girl Ka.

"Cool eh?" said Mana, "Come on, let's see yours!"

Kisara stuttered. "I... I don't know 'ow..."

Mana grinned. "Don't worry, I can summon it for you!"

"Is that possible?"

"Should be." she said, flicking through a few pages in the book, "Is it alright?" at Kisara's nod, Mana started chanting again.

Kisara started to feel ill, like she was about to be sick, and then, it felt like someone had hoisted her soul by the collar and was slowly pulling it out of her body. She tried to scream for Mana to stop, but she began to see little blue spot across her vision - the telltale sign that you are going to pass out. She felt even sicker, and with a flash of white light and a light sigh, she felt her body go numb, and fell into a brutal sleep.

**PAGEBREAK**

_...Running..._

_...Screaming..._

_...Crying..._

_"...Kisara..."_

_"...Kisara..."_

_"..Kisara..."_

_"...Kisara..."_

"...Kisara..."

"Kisara? She's waking up! Fetch the High Priest!!"

_"Mana?"_

"Kisara? Are you alright?"

Kisara moaned lightly as she slowly became aware of a soft pillow against her cheek. All very well, if her head didn't hurt like it was splitting in two. She couldn't even move her limbs, and regretted it when she moved a finger. She forced her eyes open, to see a very hurt-looking Mana at her side.

"Kisara I am so sorry!! I had no idea I never would have tried..."

"Ugh..." she sighed, "What 'appened?"

Mana opened her mouth to answer but was cut off when Seth strode into the bedroom, sending a blast of cold at them simply by staring. Correction, he stared at Mana, before blinking and turning to Kisara.

"How are you feeling?" he said abruptly.

"Am Oi dead?" she asked quietly.

Seth put on a very fake grin before his expression deliberately deteriorated into one of a murderous nature. "It wouldn't have surprised me." he said.

"Why?"

"Your Ka, the White Dragon, destroyed half of the building." he said, as if it happened every day, in a happy yet 'I'm-gonna-kill-someone' voice.

Kisara's face was one of horror. "Oi... Oi don'' know what 'appened!! I didn't mean ter, Majesty, I swear!!"

His lip tightened. Maybe even slightly sympathetically. "It wasn't your fault." he said, "It was the fault of this stupid girl." he clipped her over the ear sharply, before continuing. "No one was killed, but many injured. Priest Mahado's sorcerers are rebuilding the Palace as we speak. I..." it was as if he had just noticed Mana's presence, "And pray what right do _you _think you have to be _here_??"

Mana looked as though she was going to burst into tears. "I... I... I..."

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!" Seth's bellow frightened the poor girl so much that she tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor, "I don't want to see you again for a week, is that _clear_??"

Mana ran, leaving the room in an eerie silence which so contrasted Seth's yells. Kisara sat up more, propping herself on her elbows. He passed her some cool water. "I apologise." he said, people who knew the harsher side of him might even have considered this tone to be kind for him, he sat down in the bedside chair. "This was not supposed to happen."

"Oi'm sorry..."

"I should never have let her anywhere near you..."

"She didn'' mean ter either, Majesty, it was my fault..."

"No, it was not." he retaliated, "I should have Sensed the strength of your Ka the moment I walked into the same district you..."

There was a pause. "But we're not from the same district, are we?" she said quietly, avoiding eye-contact and smoothing the bedsheets with her fingers.

"No." his moment of un-nastiness resided, as he shook his head sharply, as if to knock himself back into reality, "Anyway, You will have a lesson this evening, make sure you are there on time." he stood up, and with a swish of his cloak, he turned to make his exit, "If not," he looked back over his shoulder, "you shall suffer very much the same treatment as Mana."

**PAGEBREAK**

Some time later, in his magically rebuilt study with walls adorned with a chart of mouth positions and side-view pictures of his subject, Seth delivered yet more elocution training:

Intimidating her during the grueling tasks; "You are offending Rê's ears with her thick, shrill accent, do you know that?" he said, cradling his head in his hands. He brought a mechanical apparatus to the table. "This able to demonstrate the force of your 'h's." he announced, "When pronounced correctly, the flame wavers - when your h's are dropped, the flame remains stationary. You also have the peculiar habit of not only dropping a letter like the letter 'h' but using it where it doesn't belong, like 'hever' instead of 'ever', and you say 'cup o' tea' instead of 'cup of tea.' So start repeating this: 'In Hwt-Ka-Ptah, Hamunaptra, and Heliopolis, hurricanes hardly ever happen'. You will do it thirty times, and twice more for every time I see that flame wavering when it should or shouldn't be."

After a few hours, and a little success, he moved on from the bunsen burner to Egyptian poetry, and gave her six marbles. "Put these in your mouth." he said, "And repeat;

'sDmi xrw, "hAb wi nsw", Ddf ni.' "

'_I hear a voice, the King sends me, he says to me.'_

When both of them were thoroughly exhausted, Seth made one final effort to encourage her to rid herself of her ghastly accent:

"Think what you're trying to accomplish. Just think what you're dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the Egyptian language. It's the greatest possession we have. The noblest thoughts that ever flowed through the hearts of men are contained in its extraordinary, imaginative, and musical mixtures of sounds. And that's what you've set yourself out to conquer Kisara, and conquer it you will."

...

"In Hwt-Ka-Ptah, Hamunaptra, and Heliopolis, hurricanes hardly ever happen."

...

Silence.

Seth sat forward in his chair, narrowing his eyes, his voice showing no signs of elation, but his eyes giving it away. "Again."

Kisara saw this, and grinned. "In Hwt-Ka-Ptah, Hamunaptra, and Heliopolis, hurricanes hardly ever happen."

Seth tried to hide the smirk that appeared on his face, elated, he was hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "I think she's got it. I think she's got it." he narrowed his eyes in a mysterious way. "Again."

"In Hwt-Ka-Ptah, Hamunaptra, and Heliopolis, hurricanes hardly ever happen."

In one swift movement, Seth grabbed her hand and twirled her out and in in a joyful dance, both of them laughing hard with sheer glee. Seth suddenly seemed to see 'sense' and let go of her very suddenly, his smile reducing to a smirk again. He walked over to the wall and pulled on a piece of rope. Within seconds, a servant appeared.

"Fetch the Pharaoh." he commanded, looking almost deadly again. The servant ran, and Seth sat back down in his chair.

Kisara smoothed her dress. "Um, shouldn't we be going up to him?" she asked, "He is the Pharaoh, after all."

Seth looked up deviously. "He could be Amun-Rê Himself for all I care."

As soon as the young Pharaoh entered the room, Kisara bowed deeply. Seth did no such thing. Reveling in her verbal achievement, he proposed: "I think the time has come to try her out...Let's test her in public and see how she fares...I know, we'll take her to the races."

"You seem happy." he remarked, "Good idea. But you are paying for this, her clothes, her make-up, etc..., I presume she is not to be wearing what she is wearing now." he chuckled kindly.

"That's fine." he said, "You pay me anyway." Actually, stuff that, he had a better idea. "Seer!" he shouted.

"I have a name." came a voice from next door.

Seth grudgingly corrected himself. "Isis!"

"Yes?"

"Will you either take Kisara to find something to wear or lend her something tomorrow? Simple, modest, elegant."

Isis entered. "I should think that would be quite possible."

**PAGEBREAK**

Later that night, now completely exhilarated and jubilant, Kisara could not bring herself to go to bed. "My head's too light to try to set it down. Sleep, sleep, I couldn't sleep tonight, not for all the jewels in the crown." Before finally collapsing on her pillow, a few unmisplaced words caught the air:

_I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night,  
And still have begged for more. I could have spread my wings  
And done a thousand things I've never done before.  
I'll never know what made it so exciting, Why all at once my heart took flight.  
I only know when he began to dance with me I could have danced, danced, danced all night! _


	5. To much to cope with?

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**WildEm: Here it is! Seth is starting to unconsciously fall for Kisara, ****note this in his derogatory thoughts about her suitor****. Check out how rude he is about Mahado and Isis as well, get me for keeping him in-character!! **

**PAGEBREAK**

"I cannot wear this!"

High Priestess Isis folded her arms. "Yes you can. You shall look beautiful."

Kisara was not so sure. All the normal upper-class Egyptian women wore lots of make-up which made their faces look beautifully bronzed and lots of eyeliner paint, with brightly painted patterns down their arms, however Isis had decided that this might not have complimented Kisara's complexion, and so had gone for light, but visible eyeliner paint, and one line of patterning down each arm, outlined in black and filled in with blue and silver. Her dress was a traditional Egyptian one, unlike the more Grecian style that Isis went for. It consisted of a large white sheet, which had been ironed in a corugated fashion, and then the two folded over her and pinned by a broach at the front, so that it looked almost like she had a shawl on, and she also had a piece of shimmering cloth tied around her waist which came to about mid thigh. It was quite narrow where it ended, giving the entire outfit a curved appearance.

"I do not feel like me."

Isis chuckled. "Was that not the entire point of this experiment?"

"I suppose."

"Put it this way, if you look like a lady, Seth may start treating you like one."

"With all due respect, Majesty, I doubt that."

"The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated." Isis explained, opening the door for Kisara and closing it behind herself, "The sooner you expect to be treated properly for your sacrifices the sooner it shall happen."

"The High Priest treats everybody in the same way."

"Don't be so sure."

Mahado was waiting as the two arrived in the foyer, wearing his normal attire. The upper-class men never seemed to dress any differently from normal. Kisara guessed that was because they were dressed beautifully for their jobs anyway. She had seen this man around the palace, and knew him to be Mana's master, and the highest ranking magician in Egypt.

"Good morning Isis." he said calmly, although a softening of his eyes and brow gave away a yearning look. He kissed her hand softly, before turning his attention to Kisara, "And you must be Seth's protégée, Kisara." he said, bowing politely, "I am pleased to make your aquaintance."

Kisara's eyes bulged. The highest ranking magician in the entire Kingdom and possibly the world was bowing. To her?? She blinked sharply and curtsied. How do you address a magician anyway? "And I yours your Majesty."

Isis looked impatient. "It is unlike Seth to be late." she said, "It is usually he who reprimands us for lack of punctuality."

After a few minutes, Seth and Atem appeared, incurring bows and curtsies.

"Seth, where on Earth were you?" Isis demanded.

Seth looked pained by their presences. "The horse Kisara was going to be lent has thrown a splint and is lame." he said, "And I was trying to find another for her to borrow. Having said, it is easier said than done."

"What's she borrowing?" Mahado asked.

"Nothing, I cannot locate one which is free." he said casually, "I shall try her out another day, I suppose."

Mahado, Isis and Atem made no attempt to disguise their shock. "Seth!! That is absurd!!" Mahado spat, bringing out his inner venom, "You tell the poor girl that she is to be going to go to the races, wait for her hopes to rise and then tell her that she is not going??"

"I agree Seth." Atem announced sternly, "It is not an option."

"She may have my horse." said Isis kindly.

"Irrelevent, Isis, because that means that you will have to be Mahado's passenger." said Seth quite bluntly, "And that is not an option, because trying to ride properly with you breathing down his neck is probably more that Mahado can cope with."

Mahado looked murderous and Isis looked offended. "Seth, please refrain yourself from such comments in the future. That was inappropriate and unasked for." Atem warned, as the four mounted their horses.

"_And quite true._" Seth murmured, swinging his leg over and sitting lightly on the horse's back. He brought the horse around and offered his hand to Kisara. "Are you coming, or are you going to stand there like a blithering idiot?"

Kisara gulped. Seth's horse was eighteen hands high, and it was a bloody long way up. Nevertheless, she swallowed the lump in her throat and placed her hand in his, screwing her eyes shut as he pulled her up. Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around his waist, noticing that his body was warm for such a cold person. He stiffened slightly as she did this, but forced himself to relax again, nudging the black mare into a fast canter, after the others.

**PAGEBREAK**

Bringing his horse to a halt, Seth let Kisara slide off, before dismounting himself and taking the reins over the mare's head, tying them to a tethering ring. He was noticing the lack of warmth on his back and waist, and briefly wrapped his arms around himself to restore his thermostat. Unfortunately, Mahado saw this, and deliberately went to tie his horse, a chesnut mare with four white socks, next to Seth's. Seth quickly pretended to be brushing horse-hairs from his attire.

Mahado raised an eyebrow slyly and spitefully. "Too much for you to cope with?" he purred, before smirking and taking Isis' arm smugly and walking inside. Seth rolled his eyes and followed the others in.

The aristocrats complacently paraded about in their extravagant costumes with their fan-wielding ladies, as they stiffly waited for the start of the horse races. In uniform fashion, they raised their gazes toward the track, and watched in freeze-frame as the horses gallop by during the first race. Afterwards, they unemotionally lower their eyes and intone together, anti-climactically:

"What a frenzied moment that was! Didn't they maintain an exhausting pace?  
'Twas a thrilling, absolutely chilling running of the opening race!"

Seth entered, his ascerbic father Priest Akunadin greeted him pointing out his own upper-class social lapses, parallelling his own corrections of Kisara. "Seth! What a disagreeable surprise!..You'll offend all my friends. The moment they meet you, I'll never see them again." he exclaimed.

Seth explained. "I have invited a flower-girl to the races to try her out first before debuting her at the Embassy Ball. I taught her how to speak properly. She has strict instructions as to her behavior. She's to keep to two subjects: the weather and everybody's health. 'Fine day' and 'how do you do?' And not just let herself go on things in general."

Kisara makes her spectacular entrance with the others, capturing the attention of all around her. She first spoke quite carefully with impeccable enunciation: "How kind of you to let me come." she said to Akunadin, curtseying deeply. The transformed commoner also spoke about the weather using her pronunciation drills.

Seth smiled victoriously, pleased by her elegance and grace. His smile faded as he saw a young man approach her, and bow respectfully. He felt a twinge of discomfort and blinked a few times, curiously moving over so as to hear the conversation.

"... I have placed a bet on a horse called Amunherpanesha, I would be honoured if you should take it..."

"Oh how kind! Thank you..."

Seth's disgruntlement was a little more obvious than he had previously thought, as Atem walked up to his side and elbowed him in the ribs. "Please try and look as if you're enjoying yourself Seth." he said. Seth ignored him, until he lowered his voice, "_And to tell you the truth..._" he admitted, "_I secretly agree about what you said about Mahado and Isis earlier. It would have been funny had it not been so rude._"

"Yes well..." he sighed, "If you can't say something to somebody's face, don't say it at all. I just say everything to people's faces. You know me." he looked up as the starting bell silenced the crowd with it's cheery toll. He looked over to Kisara, who was looking completely swept up in it all. "_Please maintain yourself, please..._" he silently begged, looking back to the horses. Apparantly Kisara's suitor's money had been badly placed - the horse called Amunherpanesha was about sixth from the back. "_Look at the creature, how could the idiot have placed a bet on something like that? The muscle development over it's quarters is uneven for a start, and it's shoulder is not sloped enough for speed! He must be a bigger half-witted pathetic idiotic imbecillic unworthy fool than..._"

"Come on, Amunherpanesha!! Move yer bloomin' arse!"

Seth paled as he heard the voice. His stomach did somersaults. What had she just come out with? A huge gasp came from the audience, of which Kisara had become the centre of attention. He felt his heartstring tighten as she began to look tearful, and excused herself hurriedly, heading for the door. He did not follow her. He did not want them to associate him with her at that moment.

Akunadin sidled up to Seth. "Ready for the Embassy Ball eh?" he mocked, "Seth, she is ready for a canal barge."

"I am persistant."

Akunadin's face remained straight. "If you cannot see how impossible this whole project is then you must be absolutely besotted with her. I advise you to give it up now and not put yourself and this bedraggled girl through any more."

"Give it up? Why, it's the most fascinating venture I've ever undertaken. Atem and I are at it from morning till night. It fills our whole lives, teaching Kisara, talking to Kisara, listening to Kisara..."

He looked unimpressed. "What? You're a pretty pair of babies, playing with your live doll."

**PAGEBREAK**

Pacing up and down Seth's study later that night, Atem was ready to give up on their "experiment," training, and bet regarding a very downcast Kisara.

"It's inhuman to continue. Do you realise what you've got to try and teach this poor girl within six weeks? You've got to teach her to walk, talk, address a King, a Lord, an ambassador. It's absolutely imposs-. Seth - I'm trying to tell you that I want to call off the bet."


	6. The Horse Returns

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**WildEm: Heya!! ****THE TRAILER FOR THIS FIC IS ON YOUTUBE!! ****The link is on my profile!! Oh, and I'm not WildEm anymore, I'm Seryphael. Change of username so it's the same as my YouTube one. Check out my vids, some of the will have you in hysterics! There are links to them on my profile as well.**

**Oh, and the name of the horse, "Merytaten", is an actual ancient Egyptian name, and "Mayati" is actually the real shortened version, so it's all correct lol!**

**PAGEBREAK**

"I blame that suitor!!" Seth fumed, slamming his hand down on the table so hard that his palm turned red, "Osiris damn him!! That would not have happened if the bloody fool had stayed away from her!! I shall be careful not to let her out of my sight next time!"

"What next time? I partially agree with Akunadin, cousin, I don't want to put her through anymore."

Seth continued. "I mean it's ridiculous! Have you ever even seen, the likes of..."

At that moment, Isis came in, dumping a load of scrolls on Seth's in-tray while he continued to rant. "My Pharaoh? What's going on?"

"He's ranting again."

Isis listened to the jumble of words falling from his mouth. "Would you like me to handle it?"

Atem nodded eagerly. "Please." he said, before turning and leaving.

"Seth?"

"...And what kind of fool would..." he stopped mid-sentance, and quickly regained his composture, "What?"

Isis tilted her head to the side slyly. "Are you jealous of him?"

Seth's mouth made a little 'o' shape. "Oh!" he said, holding his cheek, "Yes! Yes Isis, my blood is boiling green with envy at his possessing less than half a brain!! Of course... Why did I not see that before...?"

Isis frowned. "Are _you_ jealous of him talking with Kisara?"

Seth glared. "Are _you_ pregnant with Mahado's child? Don't be stupid Isis."

"For all your maturity Seth, I plead you grow up. You do a job that most people three times your age could never do, all your training was fast tracked by three years, for which you are quite phenominal, but when it comes to women you're about as mature as other boys your age."

"I'm flattered Isis, but I certainly no inclinations towards her. And anyway, when she first came, you said there should be no advantage taken of her. Why the change of mind?"

"She seems to tolerate you rather well."

"I can't see why."

"Well she wouldn't treat you with such good humour if she didn't."

"Isis, why the girl would have any fancy of me is something for the gods to ponder."

She nodded. "I'll agree with that. But your treatment of her today was not proper."

Seth shrugged, dipping his quill into some ink and tapping the nib. "She is a flower-girl, she is used to that kind of treatment."

Isis sighed, and lowered herself into the chair that Kisara normally occupied. Crossing her legs elegantly, she settled herself back. "You _are_ trying to make her a lady are you not?" Seth scoffed. "Because, and I hate to burst your bubble Seth: The difference between a flower-girl and a lady is not how she behaves, but how she is treated." she got up, scraping the chair back and standing straight, "Think about that."

Meanwhile, in the black of the night, a cloaked figure slipped past the guards, and into the streets of Hwt-Ka-Ptah.

**PAGEBREAK**

Later, after Seth had finished his daily work and climbed the stone steps to his own bedchamber, he passed the corridor on which Kisara's room lay. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw that there was a candlelight reflecting on the doorway. He walked silently to door, which was slightly ajar, and knocked lightly.

"Kisara?" he asked, "Go to sleep, for Rê's sakes, I do not want to have to teach a zombie in the morning!"

He waited for the reply, and when he received none, he peeked his head around the door. "Kisara?"

Nothing.

_"What?" _

**PAGEBREAK**

_"I know exactly where she'll be..."_

The gates of the Palace gave one standing at them a beautiful sight of the Imperial Palace, and, it was definately agreeable, that the guards stationed at the gates had the best view. Seth looked back almost with fondness at the familiar building, and briefly identified the various parts of it.

The Palace doubled up as a school, and there were certain Houses into which the pupils with certain qualities were put. There were ten Houses in total, five girls' Houses and five boys' Houses, and these Houses were situated at various places inside the building.

Small lights shone from the windows of the tower Ankhesenpaaten-ta-sherit, the House which was for girls studying, or wanting to study Medicine and Medicinal and Alchemic Magic. So much was reflected in those tiny candlelights. Study. The colour of their tunics they wore being brilliant white.

Neferkheperuhersekheper, the boys' counterpart to this House, was just as brightly lit up, but not so much, as only a small proportion of it occupied any airspace. Much of it was underground beneath the Servants' Quarters. Their tunics being slightly darker than those of their female collegues. Cream.

Then there was Meryetamun, the smallest girls House, because it was for girls studying Fighting Arts and Battle Magic, located over the Armoury, their lights long quelled, their red tunics hung up for the night. Setymerenptah was it's male counterpart, which was far greatly populated, and as a result, was on the edge of the campus, a massive building looking out onto the rest of the city. Likewise, not a spot of crimson to be seen.

The West Tower was home to Ankhnesmery-Re, the girl's House for Clairvoyance and Divination. It was a big House, and Isis was one of it's most famous former occupants. This tower was bathed in radiant moonlight, the drapes pulled quite shut. The bright blue banner which hung from the topmost window did not even flap in the non-existent night breeze. The same could be said about Peftjauabastet, the boys' answer to this House, their sapphire banner seemingly drooping in it's lack of oppurtunity to blow proudly on the South Tower.

Fent-Ankhet and Tasetmerydjehuty, girls' and boys' respectively, were the Houses for students studying Elemental and Alchemic Magic, with their tunics were green for girls, and evergreen for boys.

Anitsachon, well, Anitsachon was another story entirely. It consisted of both boys and girls, and was known as the 'Elite House', where the very best and most talented students would be stretched to their limits. Both boys and girls wore a special tunic, made out of a fabric that shimmered between black, very very dark blue and dark purple. It was one of the smallest Houses, and was mainly populated by boys, because many girls did not want to have to fight, which was a requirement. It was only accessable through inside the Palace walls itself, which was truly an honour for any mere pupil.

Seth and Mahado were the two most famous former occupents of Anitsachon... Well, Mahado was a former occupent of Anitsachon, that is to say. The pupils, of all the Houses, even though they graduated in the summer they were eighteen, had to stay in the Houses until they were nineteen. It was to prevent people from leaving or running off before they had graduated, but that spellt bad news for Seth. Even though he had graduated and become the High Priest at fifteen, he himself did not escape this rule, which meant that technically, he was still a part of the House, and could still get away with passing himself off as a normal eighteen year-old pre-graduate by donning his Anitsachon tunic.

And that night, he had done precisely that.

Seth liked to do so every so often. It meant that he could live his adolescence, which was removed from him everytime he put on his everyday clothes. And anyway, he did not need to be dressed properly for this. He followed the map that had been engrained into his brain during the years in which he lived with his mother as a city dweller himself. He knew this city better than any of the other priests, and prided himself on it.

_"Silly girl, thinking she can outsmart me..."_

Sitting abord his eighteen-hand black mare, he turned a corner, and then...

"What do you think you're _doing_??"

The startled girl spun around, coming face to face with a very intimidating Seth. "Majesty!!" she exclaimed, shrinking in front of him, before realising that he was not half as intimidating without his uniform.

Seth frantically gestured for her to lower her voice. "Keep you voice down!" he said, "The last thing I need is to get caught here. What are you doing?"

She blinked. "Well, um..."

**PAGEBREAK**

"I ask you, are you out of your mind?" Seth said, "You have lessons in the morning!"

"How did you know where I was?" she asked, as he dismounted from his horse and the both of them sat on a low wall. The horse tried briefly to use him as a rubbing post, almost knocking him off his feet.

"No, damn you no..." he scolded the animal, before turning to Kisara, "I told you, I can place people in Hwt-Ka-Ptah to within two streets, from then on, I followed my nose."

"How can you know every single street in the entire city? You grew up and trained in the Palace."

"Did I?"

Kisara paused and blinked. "Didn't you? I mean..."

"You mean what?" he snapped.

"Well, it's just I heard the Pharaoh call you 'cousin' once." she bit her lip before daring, "You're a prince, aren't you?"

Seth looked away and shook his head briefly. "I don't feel like one. I certainly wasn't brought up as one." Kisara looked puzzled. He remounted his horse and offered her a hand, "Hop on. Quickly!"

She did so, and Seth nudged the horse into a brisk walk. "So you didn't grow up in the Palace then?"

Seth, expressionless, remained silent.

"Whatever you say is safe with me. I am sorry..." she said, "It wasn't my place..."

"No." he interrupted, "I suppose it is now." he paused, before looking down at the horse's withers, "My father was forced to leave my mother and I when the Millennium Items were cast. We moved to the city, for our own safety. Do you remember when I seconded your statement that we weren't from the same district?"

"Yes?"

"I suppose that wasn't quite true." he said quietly, "I grew up in the South Quarter." he smiled inwardly to himself, "I come from very much the same place as you."

Kisara was speechless.

"That's how I found you so quickly. I know every shortcut, every street, every merchant, every nook and every cranny of this place."

"Hm, I was from the Eastern Quarter. I remember once when the old druid hid in the South Quarter because he almost blew up the entire district, and, then after he got his wit back he reconjured the buildings magically..."

"Djadjaemankh?"

She gasped. "Yes!"

"Hm. Old fool. Brilliant, but an old fool. I studied under him for a while. I found him brash and near mad."

"You're a sorcerer?"

"No."

"But you studied under Djadjaemankh?"

"Yes."

"That makes you a sorcerer, doesn't it?"

He made a vile, stressed face. "I... No!!"

Kisara remained quiet for a moment, sensing his anxiety in his voice. "But you are."

Seto stiffened. "WILL YOU JUST..."

"The Pharaoh told me." she injected, halfway through his sentance. He tensed even more and his breath caught in his throat, "He said he did not understand why someone with the potential to be as powerful, if not more powerful than Priest Mahado, would throw something like that away?"

Seth sighed, almost shamefully, letting his chestnut fringe fall over his eyes, his hands tightening their grip on the reins. "I enjoyed it once. But never again."

Seth took them around to the back gate, where there was an earth pathway so that no one would hear the sound of the horse's hooves against the sandstone. Sliding off, Seth led the horse back to the stable, while Kisara crept into the tackroom for a suitable rug for the creature. Closing the stable door behind them as quietly as he could, he slid the bridle off the horse's head, while Kisara tried to throw the rug over it's back, but found that due to it's height, doing so much was almost impossible.

Seth saw this and inwardly chuckled. "Let me." he said, taking it from her and throwing it up and over, taking care that the surcingles which held it in place under the animal's belly, did not hit said belly as they fell. Kisara reached under the horse's warm stomach, pulled a surcingle under and did it up on the other side. "Ah-ah-ah, no, the point of them being called 'cross-surcingles', is that they cross." a slight hint of maliciousness was audible. He showed her how to do it properly, before completing the back strap.

She smiled, and lent back against the wall, petting the horse's head. "I never asked you her name."

"It's Merytaten. I call her Mayati." he patted her on the neck affectionately, "Now. Go to..."

It was rather difficult for Seth to finish his sentance, and the reason for that being that horses never seem to do what they are told, they like to take the mickey, often at the pain of others. Being one such horse, Merytaten had an ideal oppurtunity, which only a horse would see. Well, this was only minoritively painful, and majoritavely embarrassing. Like earlier, preferring to use her master as a rubbing post, rather than the next human that came along, and being eighteen hands high and a bit of a giant that pretended they didn't know their own strength but knew it very well, Merytaten rubbed her head on Seth's back, causing the High Priest to brace and lean back in order to stay upright. Unfortunately, as horses do not in general take a hint, this did not work for much longer. Merytaten, done with her rubbing post, disposed of it accordingly, by giving a massive shove, sending his body flying away from her's, and slamming it into poor Kisara's.

Kisara, who had not even seen it coming, gave a small yelp as Seth put his hands out to the wall to stop himself, softening the impact that would have otherwise crushed her, however her cheeks turned rosy, with one of his hands either side of her, and the rest of him pressed against her torso.

Seth froze. From embarrassment, or fear, or hormones he did not know, but he froze. They could feel each other's breath on their faces. He hadn't ever dreamed of this happening, but even if he had, he wouldn't have dreamt that it felt so nice. He seldom ever thought of women, and when he did, it was not in a positive manner. There was something about giving someone else any form of pleasure that had always made him squirm. Ironically, at that moment, he could think of nothing but.

Kisara felt something brush against her cheek, and milliseconds later, something warm and soft over her mouth.

He was kissing her.

She found that, despite the fact that he had such ill manners and temper, her stomach did not turn itself inside out at the thought of kissing him. She was quite glad that the awkward moment of suspension was over, although, she had to admit, she thought that he would sooner die than do what he was doing.

Seth's actions resembled philosophy - it was unheard of for him to even think of them, and the cleverest men on Earth could not explain them. Yet still there he was, drawn to her like a magnet, he as negative, she as positive. It was only a small kiss, small, but very sweet. Both of them began to get more confident and she ran her hands up his back and gently tugged at his chesnut hair, sending sharp tingling sensations up his spine, while his hands found her waist...

But just as Seth's tongue was beginning to dance of it's own accord...

_... No ..._

He pulled back and was off her quicker than a flash of lightning.

_"...Shit..."_


	7. Hospitalisation

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**PAGEBREAK**

_"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!!"_

Seth had started pacing wildly along the length of the stable, while Merytaten munched at her haynet contentedly, in a deliberate blissfull ignorance which was a horsey kind of smugness. Her young master cradled his head in his hand, while his other rested on his hip. Kisara on the other hand, slid down the wall, her knees shaking and her cheeks red, her brain frantically wanting to know whether he was going to have her killed or not.

Finally, taking deep he turned to face her with an incredibly stern and cold expression. "My apologies." his words almost resembled spite, "I should never have done that. This never happened."

Kisara stood up straight. "Seth..."

He shot glare at her as he pulled back the bolt of the stable door and walked out. "This. Never. Happened." his words were so assertive and cold that they froze the very air they travelled through, not to mention Kisara's ears, "Do I make myself _perfectly _clear??"

She nodded and looked at the floor so as to avoid his face. "Yes Majesty."

**PAGEBREAK**

The following morning, before the sun had risen over the horizon, Kisara felt a nudge on her arm. Stirring, she felt the nudge again, and a soft whicker and a shuffling of hooves.

"Mayati..." she mumbled, as she realised that she was curled up on a pile of hay that had collected beneath the net the night before when Mayati had pulled strands out and not managed to keep herself from dropping some. She had considered it a worthy punishment, to sleep outside. She had once been quite used to it, but since she had lived at the Palace she had become accustomed to sleeping on a feather mattress under soft blankets and pillows.

It was cold to her now, very cold. Like he was.

She still felt out of sorts after last night, like her body had gone into shock. Such a complex character he was. Deep, with many layers and levels, and so intelligent that he had ambassadors from foreign lands write him letters offering him positions of power in their own governments.

_"At least he is loyal." _she thought, _"But why did that ever happen? I know Mayati pushed him, but that wasn't it, not completely anyway."_

She sighed tiredly and sat up, pulled bits of straw out of her hair. _"I should make it up to him."_

**PAGEBREAK**

"I think there is a denied, no, not denied, deniable, attraction, if you understand that?"

Shaada nodded as he and Isis walked to perform the morning temple rituals. "Yes, that any attraction is unthinkable."

She nodded back. "Quite, and..."

...

Shaada's brow rose as Isis suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She put a hand to the wall to steady herself and doubled over. "Isis? Isis are you alright?"

"Yes, just a little uhh..."

He fell to his knees beside her as her slim form seemingly crumpled under an unbearable weight, her hand sliding down the wall, and her weight giving way to her one side. "Isis!! Isis!!" he shook her in a vain attempt to wake her, but she was about as receptive as a rock. "Fetch a physician!! Quick!!"

**PAGEBREAK**

Seth ran a hand through his chestnut hair and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Slouching against the wall of the stables as he walked along the rows of doors, a very faint - his ears were not properly functional at the Egyptian equivalent of three in the morning - scraping of straw against the sandstone floors. And it was coming from Merytaten's stable. Suddenly slightly more awake than before, he forced his shoulder away from the wall and supported his weight on his own two feet. As he approached the stable with the plaque reading _'Merytaten' _ in hieroglyphics. The horse in question popped her head out over the door and whickered softly into his arms.

"Hello girl..." he said, giving her a head a cuddle, "How are you?"

The scraping stopped. "Morning."

Seth's reaction was not his fastest, but quick enough. Pushing Merytaten back, he peered into the stable to see it beautifully tidy, the skep full and the bed fresh, the water renewed and her rugs straightened. And also, along with all that, a tired Kisara, with a piece of straw in her silvery hair, but a smile on her face nonetheless. She was leaning most of her weight against the pitchfork, as she kicked the remaining straw back with her left foot. He shook his head, as if to shake himself back into reality. "What are you doing?"

"Um..." she said, looking at the floor and drawing circles with her foot, before taking a deep breath and drawing herself up to her full height. "I know that what happened between us..." she made a gesture with her hands, "It shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry and I did Mayati's stable for you to make up for it."

"Well thank you..." he said, not quite sure what to say, "You've saved me a lot of trouble." he entered the stable and picked up the skep, and took it out, letting her out at the same time, "Why the renewed determination?"

"I miss my old self." she said.

"What?"

"I do not like all this, being a lady, I want to be free, to be allowed to get my hands dirty sometimes. Don't you ever find that?"

He looked up. "I find..." he began, "That so long as it remains your secret, it is of no importance."

She giggled, and put her hand over her mouth. "That coming from you?"

"I didn't sleep last night."

"Nor I."

"And for that you have only yourself to blame." he said, "Here." he gently tugged at the piece of straw in her hair, removing it and giving it to Merytaten. "Now..."

"I still have something to ask you." she interrupted.

He sighed annoyedly. "What is it?"

"Your powers..." she saw him roll his eyes and he began to walk away. She put her hand over his as it reached for the stable door bolt and stopped it in mid air, returning it to his side gently. Seth froze again, her touch scrambling his brain to the extent where he could only look annoyed. "Why?" she asked.

He drew himself up tall, his lip tightened, his hands on his hips and his eyes half-lidded in a way that said 'don't you dare challenge me', but also in a subtle giveaway. He knew that his eyes could betray him, especially around her, so he had learnt. Unfortunately, she could see this.

"Why on Earth would you think that knowing is any of your business?" he demanded.

"It just seems odd to me."

He scoffed. "Rude girl. you never use yours."

"Yes, but until not very long ago I was a beggar selling flowers outside the theatre. Not only do I have a real excuse, but I also deserve an answer which does not patronise me. I am not a 'rude' and I am not a girl. I am barely younger than you and I am a grown woman!! Did you not demand respect from your elders once? You are the High Priest and a Prince of Egypt, but you should be using your powers because it is part of your job description and you have been trained here to do just that. And even though you may be 'your Imperial Highness', I still see you as I first saw you. As an eighteen-year-old."

"Have you been talking to Isis?"

Kisara shrugged. "I find her good company."

He snorted. "Not likely, since she is pregnant."

Kisara scowled. "She told me you said that. And who are you to judge..."

"Ah, but she didn't know that I was not joking." he said, "I am quite serious. As you say, I was trained here, and in obstetrics, and can you not see? She is moodier. She looks a picture one moment and a wreck the next. She complains of nausea, and comes to work in the morning looking as if she has been vomiting. She is eating more and more, and constantly needs the toilet. What do you say to that? I'd put money on it that she hasn't bled this moontide, you ask her."

"And why don't you ask her?"

He sighed. "Because I'm male and that would most likely earn me a slap around the face."

She giggled again, before seeing that he truly was serious. She blinked. "Has she given any hints that she knows?"

"I doubt she does. Contraception by magic is fairly effective, however it is difficult to concentrate on spells whilst at the height of sexual pleasure." he said, his inner-child wincing slightly at the words. Taking his gaze off Kisara, his eyes wondered to the window "Hm," he pondered, "I wonder how Mahado will react...?"

**PAGEBREAK**

"I thought you were teaching that girl today?"

Seth looked up from his work to see Priest Karim standing there with a load of scrolls. "She didn't get any sleep, and neither did I, so she has the morning off." he said, returning his eyes to the papyrus in front of him.

Karim's eyes narrowed. "And why exactly would that be?" he asked slyly.

"Don't look at me like that." he snarled.

"What? You didn't even look up!"

"I can tell from your voice." he said monotonously, "And such presumptions are both preposterous and unnecessary, thank you. But," he paused, "Shouldn't it be Isis on errands today?"

Karim's face changed to one of concern. "What, you didn't hear?"

Seth shook his head as if to state the obvious. "Know what?"

"Apparently not. She is in the Infirmary."

"Why?"

"She collapsed this morning on the way to do temple-rites." he said, "The physicians are examining her now. She is at death's door."

Something seemed to spark Seth's attention. "Really?" he said, looking curious, "Well my friend, let's go and open it for her then."

**PAGEBREAK**

"So why is Mahado not kneeling at her side then?" Seth asked as Isis lay unconscious in bed with Karim, Kisara and Shaada gathered around.

"He was on the South border doing patrol checks and is not expected back until nightfall." Karim replied.

"Well that would explain it."

Their heads turned as Lord Irj, the Head Physician, closed the door of his study, holding a piece of papyrus in his hand. "My lords," he said, "Our diagnosis."

Karim took the papyrus from Irj and read over the symbols on the page. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked to the side.

"Mahado got her pregnant didn't he?" Seth asked, earning looks of shock from the others, except Kisara that is.

"How did you know...?" Karim trailed.

Seth folded his arms and looked surprised. "You couldn't tell?? How many times have we been knocking on walls at well past midnight yelling 'give it a rest, it's been two hours already'?!"

"How far?" Kisara spoke up.

"Nearly one moontide." Karim said, "The physicians think that the levels of 'toxins' in her blood have risen too high for a pregnant woman, hence this. They are going to inoculate and do whatever they do."

"So who wants to tell Mahado?" Shaada asked.

"I will." Seth piped up, "I want to see his reaction."

There was a chorus of groans.

"Seth, you are horrible!" Kisara commented.

"I know." he sighed, "I know... Now, you have lessons." he said, walking off down the ward, with her following after.

"Looks like there's a bit romance in the air." Karim said, folding up the papyrus and leaving it at Isis' bedside.

"There certainly is."

**PAGEBREAK**

"Don't you think I am ready?" she asked as she closed the door to his study and sat in her usual spot, "I have done all that you have asked of me."

"The Ball is not for another moontide and I have to be seen to be doing something with you other than what they already think. I can't stand this ridiculous speculation." he said.

"Hm, I know." she said, resting her head in her hands.

"I have yet to decide how to end..."

"That's it..."

It had barely been a whisper, but Seth had heard it as if her voice were some kind of foghorn. "What?"

"Isis was telling me that she and Mahado had a lot of speculation when they first started seeing each other. And then when they declared it, it quietened down because it was no longer scandalous."

Seth stiffened. "I could be wrong here, but are you suggesting, that we, _pretend_, that those rumours, are _true_??"

"It might work..."

"No."

She ignored the last. "If we tell them it's true, it will all die down. Then we won't have to worry."

He pulled his headdress off and ran a hand through his hair in stress. "And pretend forever that we are sleeping together?"

"Not forever, just a moontide or so and then the Ball will be gone and I..."

"Shall be free to hate me openly." he said.

Kisara's eyes narrowed softly and she put a hand to her heart as she stood up and walked over as he prepared to exit. "I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all. Why would you say that?"

"I have treated you badly."

"I do not care." she said.

"And now we are tied to each other! How are we going to manage this?"

She brushed her hair behind her left ear. "Well..." she said, swallowing a lump in her throat and getting closer to him, "We could start with this."

Standing on her toes, her arms encircling his shoulders, she kissed him gently but purposefully. He had foreseen it however, and yet had entered it willingly, yearningly even, meeting every kiss with one of his own. They broke apart slowly, searching each other's eyes for answers that neither of them possessed, their breath held in a moment of contained suspense. Without any further hesitation, their mouths met again in a deep collision of passion and desire, their hands and tongues learning, their beings swept with an unquellable fire which grew brighter and hotter with every blissful touch.


	8. WHAT KIND OF PREGNANT?

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Okay, this is sort of a fill-in chappie, but I kinda like it, especially where Seth tries to get Mahado to sit in the chair lol. Enjoy and don't forget to review!! And I hope everyone had a fab Xmas and a mega-happy New Year!! **

**PAGEBREAK**

"Oh there you are, just got back, checked up on the gossip, thought I'd come and torment you for a bit."

Seth winced. When it came to insulting him, Mahado was never subtle. "Well, would you look who's back from the South."

"Is it true? The rumour?" he asked.

He shrugged. "Which one?"

"That there's something going on between you and Lady Kisara."

"Oh that rumour." he said, looking his rival in the eye, "Yes. Alright." he held the palms of his hands up, "You got me. It's true."

Mahado smirked. "Thought it was." he said, leaning on the windowsill and gazing out dreamily, "So where is Isis, I thought she was doing errands today?"

"Been catching up on the gossip have you?" Seth said with just a hint of sarcasm, "Um, Mahado," then a little more seriously, "Do you want to sit down?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"No, really Mahado, I think you ought to sit down."

"I'm sure whatever it is I can stand up for it Seth."

"Mahado sit in chair or I'll get the guards force you to."

"Then I'd blast them with..."

"**Mahado just sit in the Rê-damned chair**!!"

"Fine!" one graceful sweep saw him sitting neatly, one leg crossed over the other, arms folded over his chest, "What? Am I going to fall out of the chair upon hearing this?"

"I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"Look just tell me already!"

"Fine!" he said, taking a deep breath, "Isis is in the Infirmary..."

"WHAT?" he yelled, putting his hands to the chair arms to heave himself up.

"Sit down, she is fine." he said, and Mahado cautiously lowered himself back into the chair.

"What happened?"

"Well you have yourself to blame for that."

Mahado looked confused. "What?"

Seth paused, and looked Mahado in the eye. "Mahado, Isis is pregnant."

Mahado didn't move. His expression didn't even change. "What?"

"She's pregnant."

His eyes widened deliriously. "Wait... Are we thinking about the same kind of 'pregnant' here?"

"Well I don't know what kind of 'pregnant' you're thinking of Mahado, but she's pregnant, as in, you got her pregnant you dumb bastard."

"Pregnant?"

"Pregnant."

_**THUD...**_

Seth winced again. "Urm... Can I get some water here? ... And a stretcher?"

**PAGEBREAK**

Lord Irj looked distinctly ruffled and stressed as he marched down the ward where Seth and Shaada were lifting Mahado onto the bed next to Isis' with Atem standing nearby. "And who's this?" he asked.

"The father." Seth replied.

"Oh... oh..." he said, all of them nodding in a brief moment of male understanding, "Well what's wrong with him?"

Seth looked annoyed. "Well what do you think's wrong with him?" he spat.

Irj looked down at his notes. "Yes alright alright, I'll get something for him, can you put his feet up on something for me? Thank you."

"Why?" Seth asked.

Irj waved his hand in little circles. "It sends the blood back to the brain." he explained.

"What brain?"

"Seth..." Shaada and Atem groaned.

_**Two weeks later...**_

_"Oh Rê where have I put it?" _Seth thought to himself as he prepared to practically go scuba diving in the mass of paperwork on his desk. He was supposed to have been going to bed, it was approaching midnight, however there was one little piece of paper that he had just remembered had to be sent off the next day. The menu for the Ball. He had the form on which he had to tick what he wanted to eat and drink, and also what Kisara wanted. so that the kitchen staff could order everything properly in time. He ticked what he wanted, and then comtemplated whether to wake Kisara up or not.

Kisara. It had been two weeks since they had agreed to be pretending to be sleeping together, and, as she had predicted, it was going well. Everything was dying down nicely, except Mahado. How he wished Mahado would die down. Mahado was no fool, and had mentioned it once or twice that he had never heard so much as a moan, being next door and all. Seth had put it down to a good silencing spell on the room, and dropped it into conversation that perhaps Mahado should consider using one. To compensate for the lack of noise from Seth's chambers, there were often quiet moments in his study when there should have been lessons, which were filled with heated making-out sessions, just to keep Mahado's suspicions at bay. And these were becoming less and less staged each time. He liked her, definately, he liked her very much. She was agreeable, yet just the right combination of fiery and stone-heart-melting, and definately very beautiful. He did not 'love' her though, in that much he never believed in. He usually put the twisting and writhing of the contents of his abdomen which occured whenever he so much as thought of her down to hormones or bad food. He did not believe in it. There was companionship, yes, and there was lust. A happy mixture of the two could nowadays be described as romantic love. But that's all it really was.

But a little voice in the back of Seth's head kept niggling. _"But that's exactly what you and she have, isn't it?"_

His heart was beating excitedly inside his chest, his stomach churning. He felt so high that he wondered if Mana had spiked his evening drink again - it wouldn't be the first time... But this feeling was starting to make him uneasy. He dipped his quill into the pot of ink and began writing on a piece of clean parchment. When he was done, he folded it up and sealed it with hot wax, before ordering a night-guard to take it to Kisara, "and wake her up if she is asleep." he said. The guard bowed and ran off with the message. Seth pulled his headdress off and ran a hand through his hair, blinking sleep out of his eyes before removing his cloak and chest plate.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

"Seth?" she asked, closing the door silently behind her, her nightgown waving as she moved, "You asked for me?"

"Um..." he said, he was staring again. Her hair was in a long braid over her right shoulder, her eyes were soft and shimmering in the candlelight from his desk, "Yes, You need to choose a meal for the Ball. I apologise for not telling you earlier, but I only remembered just now and it has to be returned tomorrow morning."

She smiled. "Don't apologise." she said. There was a short pause, and then her eyes widened. "I... I can have anything from this list?" he nodded, looking over her shoulder, "But it's all so, so, beautiful!"

"Well it _is _an Embassy Ball." he said.

A few quiet minutes passed. Kisara ticked her choices and gave it back to Seth. "I'm starting to get scared now." she said quietly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it all comes down to this." she said, "And then afterwards, I have nowhere to go."

"Stay." It had sort of slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Mental slap. ...No! Not mental slap... Argh!!

She looked up at him. "What?"

"Stay." he said again, "I trust that everything here is to your satisfaction?"

"Yes, Rê yes, it's just," she played with her hair, "I cannot go back to who I was. That night when I went back and you followed me, it used to be my home, but when I went back it just, didn't seem like it. And now I feel like I know people here. I will miss all of you so much." she said. As she looked at him now, she saw only care in his gorgeous deep blue eyes. Next to no Egyptians had blue eyes, and even fewer's could see straight through you like his could. She felt her stomach churn and her heart flutter. She cared for him too. Somehow it didn't matter to her anymore, how harsh, sarcastic, and cold he could be. To her, he was everything.

"We shall miss you." he said, his voice deteriorated into a whisper, "I shall miss you."

She didn't look surprised, if anything, she looked incredibly happy. "And I you..."

There was an awkward moment of silence, when the two just looked at each other, drowning in the sight of each other. Kisara was the first to slap herself back into reality. She stood up quickly. "Well..." she said, "Um... Good night." she said, turning to go. Seth said nothing. Just as she reached for the door handle, he caught her other wrist with his hand, gently tugged her back to him, and kissed her. It was just like when they kissed and made out in the study, except in the study in the daytime the fact that other people were around stopped that fire from becoming any brighter, despite the fact that the fuel, on both parts, was present in abundance. Kisara caught her breath before he proceeded to kiss her senseless again. They wanted each other so badly it was untrue. She buried her fingertips in his soft chestnut hair while he traced butterfly kisses down her neck and collar bone and pulled her as close to him as was possible. A few more minutes saw them tumble onto the bed, him on top of her. His weight on her was heavenly. They broke away once more, breathing hard. His brow creasing and his eyes brows raised ever so slightly, asking the obvious question. When she pulled him back into a passionate kiss, both of them were gone, practically ripping the clothes from each other with unrequieted desire.

Mahado had no leverage after that night.

**PAGEBREAK**

_"Crap crap crap crap crap I'm soooooooooo late!!"_

Seth's thoughts resembled mushy peas. Mushy, and not very organised. He had managed to oversleep by about three hours, and his limbs felt like jelly. Rê only know how he was managing to walk in a straight line... Alright it wasn't totally straight... He had a killer headache - nothing the Gods gave was supposed to be _that_ good.

He reached his study, went through the door, turned around and practically collapsed against it, slamming it shut.

"Ah, thought you were never going to get here."

Seth's head shot up to see Mahado sitting elegantly in the chair he had a few weeks ago fallen out of. "Who said you could come in here?" he demanded.

"Who said I couldn't?"

"I do, so just get out." he said, collapsing into his chair and pulling his headdress off and placing his head down sideways on the desk with his arms protectively around it.

Mahado got up, took a piece of old papyrus from inside his sash and threw it onto the fire, where it proceeded to smoulder gently. "Ah, love does bite."

"Hm..." Seth shook his head in well acted denial, "I don't love her."

Mahado bit his lip. "You know, I know some people who would pay a _lot_ of money for a pretty girl like her."

Seth's reaction was almost violent. He was on his feet quicker than if someone had told him the building was burning down, his eyes flashed with a fury unlike any he had ever felt before. "I _would __never__ sell_..."

Mahado said nothing. Seth stopped in mid sentance, just realising what he had done wrong. Mahado had tricked him. He looked at his rival harshly for a second, before sighing and sitting down again, his head in his hands.

Mahado went to the water-feeder in the corner, filled a goblet, and returned, holding it out in front of Seth, who looked up slowly, and half-gratefully took it and sipped it slowly. "You don't have to go through this on your own." he said softly.

Seth sighed again. "Yes, I do." he replied, sipping the water again, but Mahado didn't allow him to break eye contact.

"No, you don't."

There was a short pause before Seth spoke again. "What exactly is it you want from me?"

Mahado seemingly ignored that last. "We aren't so different, you and I." he said, "I can't actually remember why we argue."

Something seemed to hit home there. Seth couldn't actually remember why he and Mahado constantly bickered. Mahado had been there for as long as he could remember, even before they had been given positions on the Court three years ago. "Nor I." he answered.

"It's pathetic really." he said, "I'm not that much older than you."

For once, Seth agreed. He didn't even know exactly how old Mahado was. Early to mid-twenties was his guess, but he had no other idea. "Oh yes?" he asked, to see if Mahado knew how old he was, "How old am I?"

"Twelve."

"Mahado!"

"Alright." he grasped his chin, "Hm... Eighteen?"

"That's more like it."

"Ah, so five years difference then." he said to himself. So Mahado was twenty-three. "What I mean is, if you ever want to talk then..." he said, walking to the door, "You know where to find me."

Seth gave a tiny, just existent smile. "Likewise."


	9. She's German? What the Hell?

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Okay, it all comes down to this one Ball - oh and, sorry, I had a brief change of mind, the bit where Seth says "have some wine it'll quieten your nerves", in the trailer which is on YouTube, Mahado is the one who goes "I'm not nervous", but since Mahado in this fic doesn't really get nervous about anything (except perhaps Isis being pregnant) I changed it to Atem instead lol. Oh and btw Teutonic means "Germanic", it's more of an ancient thing though, hence the title of this chappie. **

**PAGEBREAK**

"Seth, if anything should happen at the Ball tonight, if any embarrassment whatsoever should happen to Kisara it'll be on your head alone!"

Seth sighed. "Atem, Kisara can do anything."

Still the Pharaoh worried. Seth leant back against a pillar in the palace foyer and took to simply giving his cousin a cool and confident gaze, noting that the guests had already started arriving, noisily, he might add. "Suppose someone discovers her, remember the Races? Suppose she makes another gastly mistake."

"There will be no horses at the Ball, Atem. Come to think of it there won't be any suitors either."

"Think how agonising it would be. If anything happened tonight I don't know what I'd do!"

"Well you could always go and sit on that overlarge chair of yours."

"The Throne?"

"That's the one."

"This is no time for flippency cousin... Ah, good evening Mahado, Isis."

Mahado, with a smile on his face and Isis on his arm, gave a short bow before Atem. "I quite agree." he turned to Seth, "The way you've driven the poor girl over the last six moontides has exceeded all bounds of common decency."

Seth ignored him and tried to push the thought of what kind of double-meaning those words could possibly have had if Mahado had meant them like that to the back of his mind and turned his attention to his pacing cousin. "Oh for Rê's sake Atem will you stop pacing can't you settle somewhere? Have some wine, it will quieten your nerves."

"I'm not nervous!" he said, and then with another lap of pacing, "Where is it?"

"Over there."

"Thank you."

A servant entered. "They are expecting your presences your Majesties."

"Thank you, tell him we'll be out in a minute." said Isis, straightening her dress, which was cleverly designed to hide the two month-old bump in her abdomen.

Atem continued, holding a wine glass to his mouth. "Are you sure Kisara will retain everything you've hammered into her?"

Seth scowled. "If there's a double-meaning in that then you're going to be going to the Ball with a nasty red stain down your front." he said, eyeing the wine glass, "And it won't be wine."

"What if she doesn't?"

"You win our bet."

"Does she matter to you at all?" Atem asked.

Seth gave him a knowing look. "Of course she matters. What do you think I've been doing all these months? What could possibly matter more than to take a human being and change her into a different human being by creating a new speech for her? It's filling up the deepest gap that separates class from class and soul from soul. Oh, she matters immensely."

"I thought she might have done."

Seth decided not to answer. His attention had not belonged to his cousin for the past two seconds. On a small sweeping sound of a door against a rug, his eyes had darted up the steps and to the figure standing at the top.

Grinning like a Chesire cat, Kisara began to descend the flight of steps, her hair brushed all behind her shoulders bar a slightly shorter strand on her left side. Her dress this time was more of the elegant Grecian style than the obvious Egyptian, it was brilliant white, halternecked, with a small silver band around her ribcage, and below that a sash translucent periwinkle which tied and gave two long tails behind her back. With matching white shoes and silver, not gold, silver jewellry. Seth had had all the pieces made, knowing that the gold armbands like the ones that Isis wore would not suit her. She did however have the slimmer bands that fitted on the upper arms, these were also silver and engraved. Her make-up was once again very light, but visible eyeliner paint, and one line of patterning down each arm, outlined in black and filled in with blue and silver.

A Cheshire cat grin was not the word for it. Kisara was practically ecstatic as she traipsed elegantly down the stairs. And the look on Seth's face... Seth... Who for the past two weeks had been her lover, not pretend-lover, her actual lover. Just being with him made her so happy she couldn't even begin to describe. She felt so safe in his arms, almost to the extent where she could cry. And when he had said that she could stay, her heart had made up her mind.

Atem found it hard not to stare. Mahado was not allowed to stare, and Seth was, undoubtedly, staring. Atem mentally slapped himself around the face first. "Lady Kisara, you look beautiful."

Kisara smiled as if showered with undeserving complements. "Thank you my Pharaoh."

"Don't you agree Seth?"

Atem's interlude had given Seth some time to regain his composture, He stood up and approached her, intending to circle her to remain seeming like the imposing teacher, but his legs stopped working when he got within two yards. "Yes..." he said, "Yes..."

Isis passed Kisara a cloak, and Seth, now less confident than ever, he quietly went up to her right side and offered her his arm. She took it gingerly, smiling at him kindly and letting him walk her downstairs.

It was now, or never.

**PAGEBREAK**

As the announcer presented couples from various countries, Atem, Seth, Kisara, Mahado and Isis crept in through the servants quarters. And they had just about gotten away with it. Atem snuck onto the throne while the others stood for the entrances of the important guests. Smartly clad men and beautifully clad women with flowing dresses and elegant postures. As they watched the long procession of important couples walk down the soft red carpet - which had been laid especially for this evening - and knelt before the Throne - which had also been moved from the Throne-room to the Grand Hall, Seth looked at his flowergirl out of the corner of his eye, partially because he could sense she was nervous, partially because she was squeezing his arm rather tightly. Kisara's eyes widened slightly when she felt a hand clasp around hers.

Seth smiled at her. "Don't worry." he whispered in her ear, "You'll be fine."

Following a round of applause for the couple currently walking away from the Throne, which had been the Greçian king and queen and their son, the announcer spoke again: "And finally, we present to you, imposterologist to the Greçian Court, Ambassador Epiktetos and his wife the Lady Ambassador Hypatia."

Seth looked up with interest at this name. The man was in his mid-thirties, and was distinctly Greçian, but he knew this man quite well. He was the only Greçian for generations to become an Egyptian language specialist. He had also learnt phonetics from Seth's mentor, and was good too.

Isis prodded Seth on the shoulder. "Look who it is." she whispered.

"Who?" asked Kisara.

Isis got closer to Kisara so she could whisper so as not to draw attention to herself above Atem's welcome speech. "He works for the Greçian government as an Egyptian language specialist, indispensable to them at this sort of function. He speaks thirty-two languages, and knows practically everybody north of our territory. Supposedly no imposter can escape his detection. That's why he's here tonight. He'll be glued to their Majesties' sides, just you wait. Stay away from him, if I were you, known to be a chauvanist."

Mahado sideled up to Seth. "Watch him." he said, "You are standing in good stead, but I do fear that she will be exposed by Epiktetos."

Once sitting at their tables, Seth gloomily realised that he and Kisara were put on a table with Epiktetos, his wife, the Greçian prince Ptolemy. Before he could dash off and beg Mahado to pretend to be him for the evening, the couple and the prince had already sat down, leaving Seth cursing silently.

"High Priest Seth!" he said, "Why, I haven't seen you for a while, how goes it?"

"It goes fine, thank you." he said, putting his manners into play, yet with a danger in his voice that said 'don't fool about with me', "And yourself."

"Ah likewise, likewise." he said. His wife remaining silent at his side, not even making eye-contact with anyone on the table, "Ah..." he had spotted Kisara, "Whoever is this young beauty? Do you deceive me, or have you brought an escort?"

Seth chuckled quite fakely. "Oh deceive you I shall old friend, but not now. This is Lady Kisara."

"Delighted to meet you." she said.

"An enchanting young lady." he remarked, "What do you think, wife?"

Seth's eyes narrowed at the use of the word 'wife', and Kisara watched as the woman raised her eyes from her lap and looked at her, not really _seeing _anything. The dark eyes seemed almost dead. "Charming, quite charming." she commented, managing a smile.

As dinner went on, Kisara disliked this imposterologist more and more and felt more and more sorry for his wife, who only passed comment on anything when asked. The prince was good company, and classically handsome, yet somehow a parrot of Epiktetos. After dinner, music began to play and people started to dance. After modestly claiming to be 'not very good at it', Kisara managed to persuad Seth to dance. Epiktetos and Hypatia followed suit.

Dancing with Seth a few months ago would have been as farfetched as flying to the moon, but then again, much had changed. It truly was amazing, and she could not help but feel her heart drop when it was time to switch partners. Epiktetos was not a bad dancer, but she wanted to be with Seth. She didn't like him, there was something there that just creeped her out. Finally, the dance ended, and Seth and Epiktetos went to get some more wine for their table. Noticing that Lady Hypatia was sitting by herself, Kisara sat down next to her.

"Are you well my lady?" she asked.

The woman looked around, and smiled at Kisara. "Quite well, thank you." she replied.

"I could not help but notice your silence."

Hypatia looked terrified, playing with her bracelet. "My husband does not like it that I talk without his will." Kisara tried very hard not to gawp. She saw this, "Greçia is different, my child." she said, "Women do not have the privileges you have in Egypt. I know your custom is different and that this probably shocks you, but I know no other way. I apologise for my lack of contribution to conversation."

"Do not apologise." she said. She was about to inquire as to how she could ever live with a man controlling her every move, however Seth and Epiktetos had returned with the wine, and in hindsight, maybe it was better and more ladylike not to have asked.

Epiktetos took his wife's hand, and led her off to talk to some other people, while the prince had seemingly set his sights on Mana, who, to be quite frank, really wasn't interested, and kept ducking in and out of the servants' quarters. Mahado and Isis meanwhile, somehow managed to find themselves within eavesdropping distance of Epiktetos and the king and queen of Greçia. Mahado was just about to put as much distance between them and the prick as possible, when he heard something interesting...

"You see that pale, pretty girl over there?" Epiktetos asked their Majesties, "I can quite truly and honestly say that she is a fraud!"

Mahado paled. No... This man surely could not have seen through Seth's teaching!!

"Her Egyptian is too good." he said, "that clearly indicates that she is foreign, whereas others are instructed in their native language, Egyptian people aren't."

Mahado scoffed under his breath. _"That's because there's nothing wrong with our language to start with."_ he thought. And any fool could see that she was foreign, with a paleness like hers, but it was the fraud thing he wasn't quite comfortable with.

"And although she may have studied with an expert dialectitian and grammarian..." he continued, "I can tell that she was born - Teutonic! Not only Teutonic, but of royal blood." he pointed toward Kisara, "She is a princess. Her blood," he said, "is bluer than the Nile is or ever was. Royalty is absolutely written on her face."

Mahado and Isis, who had caught onto the fact that he was eavesdropping, and had indeed started to copy, looked to each other with wide eyes, listening as Epiktetos spread rumours around amongst the guests that Kisara was a Teutonic princess. Had Seth heard this news yet?

"Enjoying the evening?" Mahado asked, as he and Isis slid into empty chairs on Seth and Kisara's table.

"I would be were it not for that blaggard who uses the science of speech more to blackmail and swindle than teach. He made it the devilish business of his to find out who this Lady Kisara is. Every time we looked around there he was that hairy hound from Athens. Never leaving us alone, never have I ever known a ruder pest..."

Isis leant on the table smugly, clasping her elbows and trying to smirk but it was more of a devilish smile. "That rude pest..." she said, "Has been spreading a rumour around the room, that Lady Kisara is a fraud."

Seth's face was classic. "What??"

"Yes, he has been saying that she is in fact a Teutonic Princess. What do you say to that?" said Mahado, elbowing Seth chummily. Seth and Kisara looked so ecstatic they couldn't even speak, "You said that you would do it and indeed you did."

...

"So who wants to tell the Pharaoh?"

_Tonight young man you did it, you did it, you did it.  
You said that you would do it and indeed you did.  
I thought that you would rue it, I doubted you'd do it  
But now I must admit it that succeed you did... _


	10. How can I put this to you?

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Okay, I know it's been a while, but I've had neverending exams, work and coursework. I'm really sorry this wasn't up earlier, but I had writer's block and I wanted to make sure the chapter you read was the best it could be, I didn't wanna post something crap. I think this is getting further and further away from the original "My Fair Lady" storyline as it goes, but I've been having some good ideas for it now. So, sorry again and hope you enjoy!**

**PAGEBREAK**

"I do!"

"Seth..."

"What?"

Everybody anime fell and sweat-dropped. Seth let the tiniest smile onto his face, gripping Kisara's hand tightly under the table. As they all recovered from the anime fall, Isis straightened her headdress and sighed. Leaning against Mahado, she yawned in a lady-like manner. "I'm tired."

"Well Seth, it would appear that congratulations are in order."

Isis inwardly groaned and pulled her head off Mahado's chest as she heard Akunadin's voice coming nearer. The older priest and prince held his hands behind his back, and looked relatively normal. Seth decided to be civil. He knew that it was more the Eye controlling him now than him controlling the Eye, Shaada and Karim, who were older and knew him when he was younger, had even commented that Akunadin's deterioration of character and indeed morals was upsetting. They both had an unwavering respect for him, well, who he used to be. Seth had even heard the almost silent mutterings "poor Akunadin" from Karim's mouth. Seth had never seen such a light. He was torn between seeing his father like Shaada and Karim, and knowing that the man had forged his own fate when he forged the Millennium Items, and that he must have known the implications. And quite frankly, his opinion was balanced. Plus, Seth didn't like to pity people. He thought it was derogatory. Nonetheless, the undeniable knowledge that this man was his father, his flesh and blood, who claimed to love him, and that he was the long-lost his Imperial Highness Prince Seth of Egypt, was all too much for Seth to cope with when he first found out and truthfully, it still was. Which was why he had never tried to build bridges.

"Why thank you." said Seth, watching as his father walked around to his side of the table.

"I admit, I didn't think that you would do it, but you proved me wrong. You must be proud."

A smile flickered on and off. "I am." he replied.

"Look at Epiktetos, flabbergasted, standing there like a lost child. Haha, his expression is classic." he said, knowing full well that all of them would turn just to see the Greçian's face. Quicker than lightening, he tipped a dull power into Kisara's goblet and replaced his hand behind his back. "Well done. And now, it is late, I think I shall retire." he concluded.

"Good idea." said Mahado, "Good night."

A chorus of "good nights" followed as Akunadin turned and took his leave. _"I am so sorry my son..." _he thought, _"But I cannot let your feelings for a woman endanger your career. One day, and it will be as it was." _

"Well, let's go." Isis suggested.

"Yes." Seth agreed, picking up his goblet as everybody finished drinking the last of their wine before filing tiredly out of the Great Hall.

**PAGEBREAK**

On walking back from the Grand Hall that night, Seth had a new jump in his step, that before had not been apparent. All of them, including Kisara, Atem, and Isis and Mahado, were waiting to get to a place where the departing guests wouldn't be able to hear them so they could all jump for joy.

Atem didn't really mind losing the bet. It was only the expenses of her lessons, that was all, and he had money to spare. He had rather hoped that Seth would win, having seen the new life to his eyes over the past few moontides. _"I wonder if he'll marry her..."_ he thought to himself, _"He might as well, though I wonder what Akunadin will say?" _he shook his head,_ "Pah, since when did Seth care what Akunadin thought? He's a one-man regiment." _

"Do you think anyone can hear now?" Isis asked, as they closed yet another door behind them.

Mahado wrinkled his nose. "... Nope. Let's go for it."

There was about a second's worth of silence, before an uproar of cheers and whooping exploded from the upper floors of the Palace. Hugging, handshaking and joyous words were exchanged.

Seth wound his arms around Kisara's waist from behind, kissed her soft hair and whispered in her ear. "You did it."

Atem clapped his hands together tiredly. "Alright, we all have to work tomorrow. Good night everyone."

A chorus of "Good night my pharaoh"s rang, and Atem ascended the flight of steps up to his chambers, and Mahado and Isis departed to theirs... Well, Isis had her own room but had taken to staying most nights in Mahado's.

Seth chuckled and kissed her on the neck. She giggled and pulled his arms from around her, taking a few steps towards her room. "Full marks for subtlety." she said, "You surely cannot want that now?"

He growled fervently, pulling her back and holding her with overpowering strength and planting kisses down her jaw. "Desperately." he purred seductively.

She giggled again, reaching behind her head and running her fingers through his hair. "Control it."

"I can't."

"So this is the extent of your willpower then?" she said, stepping into his room before taking a more innocent and serious tone, "I'm so tired." she took off her jewellry and wiped off her make-up with a cloth, before swiftly and skillfully slipping out of her gorgeous dress, pulling on her nightgown, and collapsing face-down on the bed.

Seth also undressed himself and put on the shenti he always wore to sleep. **(A/N: a "shenti" is like one of those skirt/kilt things the Egyptians wore.) **He climbed under the coversbehind her and snuggled up to her. She grinned as he linked his arms around her waist and let his warm breath tickle the back of her neck. Trying to sleep next to a Seth who clearly wasn't tired was near impossible. She laid her hands over his to stop them from wondering, as she was pretty sure he wasn't doing it in his sleep. And she was definately sure that he wasn't leaving prolonged kisses over her shoulders in his sleep. Maybe she'd let him wonder just a little bit.

"You've been up for... must be nearly twenty hours, how do you have so much energy?" she asked.

Seth, for no reason best known to himself, stopped wondering and was silent for a moment, compelled by an overwhelming urge to just lie there and listen to their breathing all night. They lay quietly as their stomachs tied themselves in knots and their hearts fluttered like butterflies attracted to a bright light. "Because..." he muttered, "Because... It's finally over."

She turned around in his arms to face him and snuggled her head into his collar bone. "We said this only had to last until now." she said, wetting her lip slowly, "We don't have to pretend anymore."

Seth's body suddenly ached. She was right, but he had stopped pretending a long time ago. What he felt with and for her was more amazing than anything he had ever felt before. He had also caught himself trying to impress her as he learnt more about her. Yes she was very beautiful, in a non-Egyptian way, but she was such a strong person. He had treated her like dirt for the first few moontides he knew her, but that had not been out of the ordinary, he treated everybody, be they servant, pupil or pharaoh, in exactly the same way. Very few, especially servants or pupils, could still return his blazing contact at the end of the day. And still she stood there, emotionally battered and bruised, but standing there, tall, determined, true. And yet since being there she had become quieter. At first he had suspected that it was because she was not confident in speaking without her 'slum accent', however she had continued to be quiet.

Still they lay there, she awaiting an answer from him. Quietly. So quietly. It was like she had been transformed into a mouse. Because she was shy? Unlikely. But because around him, no words would catch the air. She had finished what she set out to do. So why couldn't she just thank him, and go back out into the world and work with a lady in a flower shop, like she had wanted. She wondered... He wasn't so bad. Not like people described him. He made her safe and warm and happy. His confidence rubbed off on her, so she wasn't afraid to step out into the world. He didn't always have to be there to catch her when she fell, and he sort of wasn't - he too knew the need for freedom - but spiritually he always was. It was like the two of the were attached by the hearts to a piece of elastic. No matter how hard both of them struggled to pull away, it contracted and sent them hurtling back towards each other. She grinned as he held her tighter, as if she was the lifeline saving him from being Ammit's dinner.

"No..." he said, "I don't want to..."

She cut him off quickly by sealing her lips over his, silencing him again. Was this all just her luck? She wondered as she ran her hands through his hair and over his body. She didn't care that he was malicious or sarcastic or rude - she loved him for it. The little imperfections which made the almightly Prince and High Priest human. How well she knew him now...

And through that beautiful, passion-filled Egyptian night, both of them could only be even more assured of what their hearts had been whispering, that those strange, ecstatic, confusing little feelings were in fact, exactly what Isis had said all along. A deniable attraction. And denial had indeed been sucked completely dry.

_**Next Morning...**_

Mahado slammed his goblet down on the table of his study. "I am _not _working today!!"

Seth, not even needing to ask why Mahado was so tired, looked up from the spells he had come to collect with a raised eyebrow. "And why not? Did you drink a bit too much wine last night?"

Mahado's headdress clashed against the table. "So tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired!!" he looked up, "I think Isis is going through that phase of pregnancy when they always want sex."

"You say that like you think it's a bad thing."

Mahado whacked his head against the table. "It wouldn't be if I could actually keep my eyes open."

Seth clasped his chin with his spare hand. "So when are you going to marry her then."

Mahado's head popped up again. "Huh?" he said wearily, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Well, no-string-attached sex with an unmarried woman is alright, but if she's an unmarried woman carrying your child, it is, hm, how can I put this to you... not."

Mahado blinked lifelessly. "You're right." he said, "You'd better watch you're not next then."

"I won't be next."

"Famous last words."

"I won't be. And if it makes you feel better, or worse, doesn't matter to me really but that wine last night was a bit odd, I felt like crap earlier."

"I didn't drink _that _much, like I said, I'm just tired."

A knock at the door forced Mahado to lift his head off the table again. "Enter." he said.

The door opened and Akunadin poked his head around the door, before striding inside and closing the door behind him. "Excuse me Mahado, I was just looking for Seth, may I borrow him for a minute?"

"Of course." said Mahado, trying not to look too like the living Dead. Akunadin nodded and he and Seth went out into the corridor.

"May I help you?" Seth asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"I am going to try to put this over to you one last time." he said, folding his arms, "I think it unwise of you to pursue any form of relationship with this girl."

Seth frowned. "Why do you have to make an issue out of this? She and I told everyone we were sleeping together to end the rumours!"

Akunadin looked his son in the eye. "You must think I'm stupid." he said, taking Seth aback, "I wasn't born yesterday Seth. It is not fitting."

"What, precisely, is not 'fitting'?"

"The fact that you've managed to fall head over heels in love with a girl who is, one, so far below you in the hierachy it is unthinkable, two, shunned by the rest of the world for her appearance and three, will more than likely be your downfall or your heartbreak!"

"_What_??" Seth spat.

"You are a prince! I shouldn't have to remind you!! You have duties to Egypt as it's High Priest, and as it's Pharaoh's cousin. Your job is dangerous Seth! People have tried to kill you for Rê's sakes!! What better way to get to you than through your lover??" Akunadin vented, "You shall end up doing what I did Seth!! Sending her away for her own safety at the price of your happiness!! I don't think you can even begin to imagine how much that hurts!! And here I watch you make the same mistake that I did!! _I don't want that for you_!!"

Seth was fuming at the ears. "I don't _care_ what you want for me!! I haven't been a child for a _long _time, Akunadin. It's a bit too late for fatherly advice!"

Akunadin flinched when Seth used his name. Watching his not-so-little son turn and begin to depart, "Hm..." he said to quietly himself, "Just like your mother."

Seth stopped in his tracks, and turned around slowly. "Mother is dead." he said, shaking his head and creasing his brow as he did so, "She told me, that my father died in battle before I was born. And..." he evaluated, "I think she was right."

_**That Evening...**_

"Kisara! Over here!"

Kisara gave a small "Mm?" as she looked up from her stable-sweeping work to see a slightly younger girl skipping up to her side. "Mana!" she exclaimed.

"I know Seth said I wasn't supposed to talk to you but I figured what the Hell I mean you succeeded didn't you? I thought I'd better come and see you."

Kisara smiled. "Look what Seth gave to me for succeeding." her smile broke into a grin as she looked towards the stable outside which she was sweeping. A beautiful flaxen gelding, standing about 16.3hh high with a dark liver chesnut coat glinting like a newly minted two-pence piece and a practically white mane and tail, poked it's head over the stable door and whickered softly through it's mouth of hay. it's golden plaque on the door read "Kahotep" in hieroglyphics. **(A/N: 'Kahotep' means 'peaceful essence' in Ancient Egyptian. And the word 'flaxen' is the term for a horse that has a dark coat and a light-coloured mane and tail.)**

Mana's eyes widened. "Woooaaaah!" she gasped, stroking the horse's velvetly muzzle, "He's beautiful! What did you do to Seth??"

"I wish I knew." she said.

_Gurgle..._

Mana looked down and Kisara groaned as her stomach gave a pained churn. She placed a hand over it gently. She definately ate or drank something last night that didn't agree with her. Quiet frankly, one of the minor reasons she was out there was because she had needed the fresh air. It was like she felt dead to the world. She had passed it off as sheer exhaustion, after being up late last night and then making love with Seth, but she had slept in this morning. Until around midday. It was probably just a virus or something. Nevertheless, it was really annoying her.

"Oops." she said.

Mana giggled. "I swear the cook was in a bad mood yesterday. I was serving tables until midnight, and nobody wanted to get in his way. Something to do with a delayed delivery of something with was vital for one of the recipes. He's cooked better, I think."

"I suppose." Kisara said contentedly, "How's your training going? Master Mahado mentioned an unintentional fire when practicing controlling water."

Mana looked embarrassed. "Yes, yes, that was a bit strange. Yes... Still." she said, waving her hand in the air, "I guess I need a bit more practice. I'm trying, really, it's just I want to live out the rest of my youth with a bit of fun, teasing Atem, hiding in vases, you know. Just one more moontide, and I'll settle down and study. I've been saying that to myself ever since last year."

"I know. But don't stop yourself moving on and up in the world." Kisara consoled, "Good things can happen. I should know."

**PAGEBREAK**

"Ah! There you are." said Isis, briskly marching into the papyri store room, pinning her skirts to a button on her waist, so she could walk properly without having to hold them and without showing more that her ankles. "Are you coming to the Refractory for dinner?"

Seth lifted the presser off the papyri he needed and pulled it off the table. "Not today, I'm not feeling fantastic." he replied, his voice quieter than normal.

Isis looked concerned. "You look like Death." she said approaching him, "Come here." she put the back of her hand to his forehead, "Holy Rê Seth you feel like Death!"

"Is Death this nauseous?" he asked, slumping his shoulders.

"I wouldn't know." she replied, "You're far too hot. I think you should go to bed."

He sighed impatiently. "I _can't _go to bed Isis I have work to do!"

"Not when you look like Death you don't." she bossed, "Don't make things worse by suffering because then you'll be ill for longer and then I'll have to pick up your slack, which my friend I am not doing so get your arse upstairs. I'll bet it was that wine from last night, I felt a little ill this morning. Your stomach can't be weaker than mine..."

Seth gave her a weak smile. "Sorry Isis, duty calls." he said, before brushing past her and out.

Isis rose an eyebrow as she watched his retreating back. _"He doesn't smile!" _she thought, _"Not at me at least. And he doesn't apologise either. There's something wrong with him." _


	11. The Sweetest Antidote

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Isis should have gone to Specsavers... Ain't that right Churchill?**

**Churchill: Oh yes!**

**PAGEBREAK**

"Oh Gods what is this?" Isis sighed, holding up a piece of papyrus to her nose in a vague attempt to read it in the candlelight. She Karim and Shaada were attempting to get their necks above their paperwork. A task that was always left until last because it was just their favourite thing to do ever. Isis squinted - for someone who had the power of premontion, her sight was surprisingly bad.

"You should have gone to Specsavers."

Isis frowned and looked up at her comrade. "Karim that is strange and uncalled for. I can see it."

"And I'm Mr. Congeniality." he said as Shaada's head fell back in a laugh, "And anyway, the authoress thought it was a suitably entertaining quote."

Isis looked around the paper. "Fine, now, back to what we're supposed to be doing. And I _can _read it!!"

"What is it?" said Shaada, not looking up from his day's trial reports, instead extending his hand to pull a nearby candle closer.

"The Infirmary is requesting higher security on their storerooms." she said, reading the hieroglyphs, "I thought they were just moaning as usual, but apparently things have been going missing. Quite important and rare things apparently. They don't know who, but they think some of the younger students could be messing around. Anyway, what's been taken isn't exactly safe to mess around with. Almost all of it has been exclusively available to the Palace with restricted access. You can't get this stuff anywhere else in the country and only Pharaoh's Court and Higher Sorcerers Physicians and Magi can access it."

"What's been taken?"

"Acromantula venom, wolfsbane, some kyten, lyfelidae fur, myrm eggs, quite a list so they say."

"I'll ask my men if they know anything. It maybe just someone taking things and forgetting to sign them out of the storeroom." said Karim.

"It could just be the students, it wouldn't be the first time. I hope that's all it is. I've sent for a complete list of stolen items and what the physicians think they could be used for, but the list is so long it's impossible to tell what might or might not be being brewed."

"Majesties?" said a pretty voice politely, knocking briefly on the door before entering. They all looked up and put their quills down.

"Kisara?" said Isis, clasping her hands together, her bracelets clinking against the table, "What may we do for you?"

"Have any of you seen Seth?" she asked, wringing her hands in her skirts.

"Has he not proposed to you yet m'lady?" Shaada chuckled.

Kisara ignored him. "It's just, I have not seen him all evening, and he's not in his study."

Isis nodded. "Yes, I told him to go to bed, he was not feeling well." she replied.

She frowned respectfully. "I've looked, he's not in his room either."

Isis suddenly looked serious. "I'll bet he's not too." she said to herself. She turned to Karim, "Was he at Drill earlier?"

Karim shook his head. "I wondered where he was, but he sometimes skips it if he has too much work."

"And he is not in his study you say?" Shaada asked.

"No."

"The last time I saw him was just before I was going up to the Refractory for dinner. I told him to go to bed, but I don't think he can have done." said Isis, clasping her chin in thought, "The only other thing I can think of, have you checked the stables. I tell him to go to bed, then he goes and rides his horse. Actually that also wouldn't be the first time..."

Kisara's face lit up. "Of course! That'll be it."

Isis hit the palm of her hand in the table and snapped her fingers. "Glad we could help dear."

Kisara held her skirts clasped in her right hand as she nimbly jogged down to the stableyard, knowing that the servants would not be best pleased if they had to clean horse poo off her dress... again... Not immediately seeing Merytaten's head pop out over the door, she went straight to the tack room, finding that Merytaten's tack was hung up, cleaned, polished, and ready for use the next day. She walked over to Merytaten's door, where her hand clasped at the bolt. Merytaten was lying on the floor, her hind legs and neck tucked around away from Kisara.

She drew back the bolt, and slid around the door, taking slow, timid steps so as not to disturb the horse. There, curled up in a foetal-like ball position, lay the young prince. His cloak was pulled around his body, and it looked like Merytaten had pulled off her own blanket and spread it over him. It wasn't that cold, surely.

"Seth?" she said, kneeling down next to him, "Are you alright?" thinking he was sleeping, she brushed his fringe out of his eyes, brushing his skin as she did so.

_"Wait a minute..."_

His brow was boiling hot and glistening with sweat. His breathing irratic, irregular and with a double exhalation. His eyes were not peacefully closed, but quivering sometimes, like he was having a nightmare. Merytaten nudged her, once, and the again harder and whickered.

"Seth!" she said loudly, slapping him around the face, "**Seth**!!"

The response was minimal. Seth was barely receptive to her voice, or her slaps. His eyes fluttered and he groaned. "Where am I?" he breathed, instantly aware of how cold he felt he felt like his limbs were going numb because of it. "It's so cold..."

"You need a physician! I have to get you to a physician..." she said, putting his arm around her neck and helping to steady him and support his weight, which was practically impossible. He tried to stand, but his legs simply wouldn't support his weight. Together, they managed to get halfway up to the Palace again, before Seth slipped out of consciousness again. She felt his arm go limp and lowered him to the ground, propping him up in her arms.

"Help!! Somebody help me!!"

**PAGEBREAK**

Isis was the one who heard it first. She was as blind and deaf as a bat, meaning she couldn't really see well but could hear things that went on on the other side of the building. She dropped her quill, and hurried over to the window, before running to the rope hanging from the ceiling which rang the emergency bell in the Infirmary. Shaada and Karim pulled Seth off Kisara and got one of his arms around each of their shoulders.

"What happened?" Isis demanded as Kisara pulled herself up off the ground and hurried after Karim and Shaada.

"I don't know!" she cried, "I just found him there in the stable!!"

As the physicians responding to the bell call arrived, out of breath from having sprinted from the Infirmary, Kisara heard shouts of orders to put him on a stretcher and carry him back up to the Infirmary. Once up there, they manouvered the still unconscious High Priest onto a bed, while the other physicians prepared to take blood samples to test. They made a scratch in his arm and let a small amount of blood trickle out, before bandaging it tightly with honey-lined wraps and running of to their laboratories. One placed their hand on his forehead and took his pulse and respiration rate, before examining his glands and lymph nodes. As the physician checked the lymph node Seth's the left arm, he shuddered, and brought his hand sharply around, as if to knock the physician off, but it never quite reached it's destination. He started tossing, and then murmuring, as if he were in some kind of nightmare.

"No... No..." he mumbled, moving his arms and throwing his head from side to side, "I... I lo... I lo... Don't..."

From then on, his cries could not be distinguished as words, rather as gibberish, but they got louder, and he thrashed even more, alerting the other physicians.

"Something's hurting him!!" Kisara cried, tears beginning to stream.

**"Something is **_**killing **_**him!!" **said one of the senior physicians, as he tried and failed to restrain Seth, before turning and yelling, "Fetch a waking spell! Quickly! We can't administer anything unless he is awake!!"

The other physicians scurried until one found the papyrus and took it the the senior, who snatched it and unrolled it, picking up a potion vial and uncorking it.

"Troubled blood with sleep's unease,  
remove the cause of this disease.  
Sleep eternal never more,  
and shift this source of illness borne

to this confinement, so none shall mourn."

Kisara, Isis, Karim and Shaada watched in awe as a seemingly dark purple smoke erupted from Seth's body and made it's way, seemingly unwillingly to the potion vial, where, once in, the senior physician sealed it. Seth twitched a bit, before his eyes opened wide and he sat up, coughing, and then realising the pain in his body, clasped his hand over his stomach and grimaced, bending over double and breathing hard.

"Quick!" said the physician, pouring another concoction into a drinking goblet, "Drink this, it will relieve the pain."

Silently, Seth took the goblet with shaking hands and put it to his mouth, gulping the liquid down. Once done, he was handed yet another.

"Now this, it is a remedy, it will slowly send you back to sleep, but it will start to boost your immune system and flush out your organs. Drink."

Seth obeyed, and drank the goblet of tonic. He didn't immediately feel drowsy, but he relaxed a little as the pain relieve took effect, and then he felt himself slip back into a peaceful sleep.

The physician, who's name was Irj, looked over his patient with knowing eyes and shook his head as if the whole thing was something he would expect as a result of children messing around.

"My lord?" asked Kisara, approaching the man, "What has happened to him?"

Irj put his fingers to his chin and turned to to girl. "From my experience, I can be sure that he's been poisoned." he said, "I won't know by what until his blood content has been analysed, but I'd put money on Nwkhjet. Nasty nasty stuff. Symptomless until a day after administration, and then this happens." he said, gesturing towards Seth, "It's a very elite poison, it takes half a moontide to brew. Could someone have poisoned his food, or drink last night?"

Isis thought for a moment. "Not the food, it was all checked and tested before preparation." she said, "But someone could have spiked his wine, it was quite heavy stuff, you wouldn't be able to taste anything through it."

"But who?" said Karim, "Only Epiktetos, his wife and Prince Ptolemy were sitting at that table."

"_Epiktetos..._"Isis seethed under her breath, "Just wait until I get my hands on him!!"

"You won't ever get that chance, I think, but the Greçian government has some serious explaining to do." said Shaada, "They've wanted war with us for ages, but they are at such a disadvantage with us they can't. Their economy will crash. Whereas ours won't. Because, if we had to send all our men to war, most of their jobs could be done by women. The Greçians' policy on women is that they are seen, not heard and definately not working. So war is out of the question. But poison our High Priest?"

"Or..." said Isis, "Poison our prince."

Everybody looked at her as if she were mad. "What?"

"Think about it..." she retaliated, "There is the Pharaoh, and there is Seth. Seth is currently the single heir to the Throne and shall be until the Pharaoh has children. That could be for sometime yet. If an assasination attempt is made on our Pharaoh, there is no one else to take the Throne. That would be the perfect time for an invasion. High Priests are used to assasination attempts, plenty of which have succeeded. But they've killed two birds with one stone. You realise that if Seth dies, we will have to pick up the slack. We will not have time to be at war, recruiting a replacement and doing his workload, we will have no Pharaoh and no heir. And if the Greçians are further up the Romans' backsides than we think, then gentlemen, we are in a lot of trouble."

Kisara began to cry again, not able to come to the terms with the fact that Seth was, whether the physicians or he could turn it around or not, dying. Isis put her arms around the weeping girl and cuddled her in a motherly fashion.

"But how do the Greçians know that Seth is a prince? It's been hushed up for years. We are the only people who know." said Shaada, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's likely that whoever did it acted on another's instructions." said Karim, "It could have been either of the men, I doubt they would trust a woman with a task like this. But think, if they do successfully conquer us, Ptolemy will be Pharaoh. And Epiktetos will surely have something to gain."

"I should wait until his blood analysis returns." said Irj wisely, "Then we shall know exactly what happened."

"Take care of him." said Isis.

"Will he be alright?" asked Kisara.

Irj took a deep breath. "I don't know." he said, "It depends. I have to tell you - currently, the chances are that he won't make it. But he won't go down without a fight m'lady. Miracles in cases like these are few and far between."

Tears streamed. Not just from Kisara. At this news, Isis promptly began to cry, and Karim and Shaada stood with their heads low, to disguise the fact that their eyes were also watering. Irj simply looked on. Being a senior physician, he had seen many deaths, and had managed to come to terms with it years ago, and still, he did not usually deal with patients like Seth. _"Both Life and Death are unfair..." _he mused,_ "He's so young..."_

"My team will find out exactly what poisoned him." he finally announced, "Then we can administer an antidote. Until then, I think it best that you all sleep."

"We can't." said Isis through sniffs.

"You must." he replied, "I have known others in your current jobs descend into depression, even die of overwork." he looked to the bed, "He would not want that for you. He would not want you to worry about him. Go to bed."

"I..." Isis began, but Karim put his hand to her arm and silenced her, leading her off to her room, while Shaada gave Seth a hopeful glance, before retiring himself. All that remained was Kisara.

Irj saw. "I thought you would want to stay." he said.

Kisara nodded. "Please..."

Irj held up the palm of his hand. "You may. Be well m'lady."

**PAGEBREAK**

"M'lady??" Kisara scoffed to herself as Irj excused himself, clenching her fists as she sat down in the chair at Seth's bedside, "_M'lady??_" she looked at him, anger boiling, "I realise now..." she said, remembering Shaada's comment about Seth not having proposed to her yet, "I was above all this before. I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. But now I'm this I can't do anything else can I?"

She pulled back the bedsheets slightly, climbing into the bed beside him and cradling him softly. "Why can't I just go. I wanted to work in a flower-seller's. That was the original idea wasn't it? I could have just left before, you would never have seen me again." she whispered, kissing his hair and closing her eyes to sleep, "So why can't I just go?"

**PAGEBREAK**

Karim was the one who had gone to inform Akunadin. He had thought only appropriate that the old man knew. Knocking on the door of Akunadin's chambers, Karim wringed his hands impatiently. it didn't take long for the Priest to answer. It wasn't surprising that he was still up. The Millennium Eye glinted in the light of Karim's torch, in it's usual devious style.

"Master Akunadin," said Karim, trying to be professional, "It's about Seth."

"What is about Seth?"

"He is in the Infirmary..."

**PAGEBREAK**

Meanwhile, Shaada had gone to inform the Pharaoh. It was a longer trek up to the Pharaoh's chambers than it was to most, but Shaada's legs seemed to be working on automatic pilot. The guards at the doors bowed respectfully and let him through, ringing the bell to inform his Majesty that he had a visitor. A few slow minutes saw the teenage Pharaoh at the door, his tunic pulled carelessly over him. He hadn't bothered to put on anything else over his nightwear. Holding a candle, he squinted in the dim light at Shaada's face, which was far from it's normal self.

"My Pharaoh..." his Priest began, "Your... High Priest..." he was going to say 'cousin', but quickly stopped himself, as he realised they were in earshot of the guards, "Is very very ill and in the Infirmary."

Atem was awake like a flash. "_What_?" he demanded, making the guards flinch. His eyes grew steadily wider as Shaada told him the shortened version of the story. "Right." he said, careering down the hallway, towards the Infirmary."

**PAGEBREAK**

Akunadin was the one who got there first. He blew down the door like a hurricane, waking a few patients on the nearer wards. He almost ran to the end room, where he saw his son, pale and weak-looking, in the arms of his "project", who was sound asleep. Akunadin's magical senses tingled at the perception of the bind between them. But... Why wasn't the girl ill? She wasn't even remotely ill-looking. Maybe she didn't drink anymore from her goblet, or maybe the poison had settled at the bottom of the goblet and she hadn't received any. And why was Seth suddenly so ill when he was previously in perfect health?

He couldn't have...

No... He couldn't have done...

Starting to panic, he shouted. "Irj!!" waking more patients, "Irj!!"

"Master Akunadin?" replied the physician, jogging down the ward.

"What has caused this?" he demanded, gesturing to his son.

Irj gave a quizzical look. "I would say Nwkhjet. But I can't say for certain, but I am pretty sure." he said, watching how Akunadin's face paled itself, "Are you alright Master Akunadin?" he asked.

Akunadin said nothing. He took a few steps closer to the bed, and looked at Seth's face. He was wearing an uncomfortable grimace, as if he was concentrating hard. He gave small jerks and jerking inhalations every so often.

He was in a lot of pain.

Akunadin couldn't take it any longer. Practically pushing Irj over, he fled the Infirmary, and his nightmare that sprung from it. He didn't even care that the Pharaoh was coming in the opposite direction, rushing past with such a force that Atem nearly spun three-hundred-and-sixty degrees on the spot.

"_What do you think you're doing_??" Atem yelled, but his expression changed as Akunadin did not respond. Creasing his brow as he saw his uncle disappear, he pushed his tunic further up his shoulder - it was slightly too big - and continued on his pathway. He desperately wanted to shake Seth awake, to ask him if he was alright. Well, he clearly wasn't, and so he stopped himself and let his cousin sleep. Cousins... No one would ever know. They were about as similar as chalk and cheese, the only thing they shared was their family's lean physique, bone structure and figure, and even then, Seth was stronger and towered over him by over a foot. Still Atem felt a horrible twang in his heart. He had always had a big cousin, who was like a brother. He didn't know how to live without one, and yet here he was, having to be the strong one. Shaada had mentioned Nwkhjet. If that was true, then Seth could be dead by the morning. Then he saw Kisara, her arms around him, giving him the warmth he so desperately needed.

Poor Seth. He didn't deserve this. A good kick up the backside every now and then maybe, but not this. Atem had not overheard Isis' analysis, so he didn't understand quite why anyone would try to kill Seth. However he also suspected Epiktetos or Ptolomy. Was that what his throne was worth? Even so, he could not be sure that either of those men had poisoned Seth, and he had ordered the guards to search everyone for weapons and banned substances at the gates hadn't he? How had they even gotten anything into the Palace? Unless it was an insider...

"My Pharaoh," Irj began, bowing respectfully, "The blood analysis is complete."

"What did you find?" he asked.

"It was as I had thought. Nwkhjet. Nasty poison. However - and this you might find interesting - the concentration of it was obviously not accurately measured before administered."

"What does that mean?"

"The concentration of Nwkhjet in the High Priest's blood is too low. Now, Nwkhjet works like any other kind of healing substance, how much to administer depends on the body size. The dosage he was given was not enough for a man of his size..." he explained, referring to Seth's tall physique, "The amount he has been given is enough to kill a woman of average height, like this young lady for example." he gestured towards Kisara with the palm of his hand flat, "But what confuses me," he said, "is that surely someone with the knowledge of how to brew Nwkhjet, it is after all a highly complex thing to make, would also know the correct dosage for the target." Seeing that Atem's eyes were fraught with confusion, he continued, "This however is good news. My team is preparing to administer the antidote now, and the fact that the dosage is not what is should be, there is a chance that he will live."

Atem gave a sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods."

"I say I chance." he repeated, "And only if we have caught it in time. I have to say, the average chance of survival for Nwkhjet under these circumstances is about eleven percent." he saw Atem frown again, "But having said, it is surprising that he is in as good a condition as he is. He's a fighter. I think he is one of those eleven percent."

"Please save him." the Pharaoh said, his lip shaking slightly at the thought of burying his cousin.

Irj nodded. "I will do everything I can." he assured, "We are lucky." he said, "If he had received the correct dose, he would certainly now be dead."

Atem swallowed. "Thank you."

Irj took on a more fatherly tone. "You should rest, my Pharaoh. It has been a long day."

Atem supposed he was right. "If there is any change, for the better or worse, you will have me woken?"

"Immediately."

Irj bowed again as Atem turned to go, neither of them seeing however, the gasp that escaped Seth's lips. So quiet, so small, it was only audible to the owls and dogs inhabiting the Palace. And even then only if they listened hard enough. His mouth loosely formed the word, his breath giving it life.

"_Kisara..._"

**PAGEBREAK**

The next few minutes saw the physicians come with a bottle of antidote, and another awakening spell. Kisara stirred when she felt someone clasp at her shoulder gently. A female physician whispered to her that she would have to get up. She wiped her eyes and shifted out of the bed and into the neighbouring chair. She watched as Seth weakly drank the antidote with shaking hands, and lay back on the pillows, cradling his forehead tenderly. They refilled the goblet and he drank again, whilst a hand clasped at his churning stomach.

"Damn..." said Irj, who was taking Seth's temperature, "His body temperature has dropped too much. Fetch blankets!! Hot water!! Hot food!! NOW!!"

"I thought he was getting better..." said Kisara, watching on.

The female physician who had woken her earlier looked sorry for her, and left her post, putting her stethoscope around her neck. "It is an effect of the poison." she explained, "When the body's temperature drops to 30 degrees Celcius it begins to shut down. Giving him food will warm him up from the inside, and get his gut moving again. It is a godsend that you kept him warm - he might already be gone had you not. I must fetch some food - watch him and try and keep him awake." she said, nodding and giving Kisara a friendly pat on the arm.

Kisara pulled the chair as close as she could and held his ice-cold hand.

"You're still here..." he breathed, his voice practically non-existant.

"Of course I am." she replied, "Why would I not be?"

"Thank you..." he murmured. His heart was beating so much it hurt. Wincing, he pulled the hand which held his over his arm, over his chest, and laid her palm flat over his heart. She spred her fingers out over the blue silk of his tunic and let her hand absorb the lub-dubs erupting from his body. He closed his eyes as if in momentary bliss.

"Eleven percent..." he said, half-opening his eyes.

"Lord Irj thinks you'll be fine!" she protested.

"Eleven percent is eleven percent." he said grimly.

"I can't live without you..." she whispered, stroking his still soft hair.

He chuckled. "I didn't think it possible to be so ill and yet so elated." he said, "Had I not been able to feel you there..."

"Seth..."

"I have to tell you this..." he began, his eyes beginning to water, "Or otherwise I may never get the chance..."

Unable to take this emotion any longer, Kisara swept down and kissed him fully on the lips, putting every single thing she felt into it. The rush for both of them was wild and passionate. Something that Seth had buried deep within himself was now coming to the surface. He made no attempt to stop it, he knew he hadn't the strength. As he kissed her with all his human strength, his unhuman strength began to reveal itself. Kisara felt a surge of power break free of it's bounds, and through her closed eyelids, noticed that the candles around Seth's bed had all roared into life. Things on the bedside table began to vibrate and float of their surfaces, the water in the goblet began to leave it's confinement and hovered several feet in their air, changing shape and behaving like a bubble.

They broke away silently, and he pressed his right cheek to her left, shutting his eyes tightly. "_I..._" he stammered, somehow finding the strength to put his arm around her, "_Oh Rê I think I..._" he laughed weakly, "_It feels so amazing..._"

She held him tighter, gripping his body and mind and soul.

"_I love you..._" he panted into her ear, "_deeply..._" she clung to him tightly, "_So very deeply..._"

"_I love you Seth..._" she replied, looking around at the floating objects and candles, which were glowing different colours every few seconds. "Are you doing that?" she asked, astounded, "Your powers..."

He sighed. "I cannot control it." he said, "I haven't been able to do something like this in a long time."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Our powers come from our emotions." he said weakly, "And my emotions, were non-existant. I felt nothing. Not ever I found my way back here. I locked it up inside me. It was just the good emotions at first." he said, "I became cruel. Then even that faded. I simulated it when I had to, it was so second nature to me that it dimmed to something I did not feel, just did. I felt nothing. And with that, my powers dimmed too. Until there was nothing left of them. I partially locked up my emotions because I didn't want the magic. Magic was the reason my family was left in tatters. When I used to live in the South Quarter, people feared me because..."

"Because your powers were so strong." she finished his sentance.

"I saw it as a way of cheating yourself. I didn't want to be feared for something I couldn't help. Branded dangerous. I wanted to be mortal. Something I could never be. So, and because I didn't want to feel the pain from my family, I sealed it all away. Not by spell or curse, but by willpower. Later, when I attempted to do magic, I couldn't. My power had all but left me. And then I didn't feel the triumph at succeeding that I had expected. I felt empty. Nothing. In denial. People asked questions." he wet his lip, "I always thought it was better to pretend to have magic than admit that you didn't have it at all."

"Oh Seth, you had a gift, not a curse." she said, "An incredible gift."

"Maybe. And if I get through..."

"You will live." she ordered, "I cannot live without you."

Slowly the floating items began to stop and lay still again on their respective surfaces. Seth put a hand to his head and groaned in pain. "I hope so." he whispered, "It hurts..."

She tried to sooth him with her voice, but began to shake him lightly when she saw his eyes begin to fall. "No..." she said, like a mother scolding her child, "The physicians told me to keep you awake."

"_I can't..._" he murmured, "_I can't..._"

"No! You mustn't!!" she said, but his eyes were still struggling to stay open, "Seth... Stay awake..."

"_So tired..._"

"Don't!!"

But it was no use. Seth's eyes fell closed, and the physician entering with blankets, seemingly in slow-motion, broke into a run down the ward.

**PAGEBREAK**

"No!!" Kisara yelled, "Seth!! Seth wake up!!"

Irj ran up to the bed and grabbed the High Priest by the shoulders, shaking him violently, making his beautiful blue eyes flutter open and his consciousness extend enough to down another goblet of some medicine mixed with hot soup. Kisara grabbed a hot wet cloth from a nearby bowl and began to mop his face down with it, desperately trying to restore his body heat. She worked over his neck, shoulders and arms as the physicians piled blankets on, one holding their fingers to his pulse, making sure his heart was still beating, another retaking his temperature - no higher. Kisara prayed that it was only the cold of the night that was keeping him so cold, and prayed even harder as she saw the Sun begin to rise through the open window.

The physician with her fingers on Seth's wrist, blinked, and pressed her fingers a little harder. The pulse was weak, but she could feel it just. She pressed harder. Seemingly confused, she the checked the jugular artery on Seth's neck, before cursing violently.

"Shit..." she murmured, before shouting "No pulse!!"

Irj put his fingers to the artery too, before placing his hands flat over Seth's chest. "Blow into his mouth when I tell you!" he bellowed.


	12. How to save a life

_**My Fair Dragon Lady.**_

**Me: Helloosies, here's the next chapter. Needless to say I don't own The Fray's song 'How to save a life'. Obviously this one doesn't appear in 'My Fair Lady', but I thought it was relevent lol. I like the song anyway, and when I heard it in that Scrubs episode where Dr. Cox looses three trnsplant patients to rabies because the donor wasn't tested for it it made me cry! I've only used the lines of the song I thought were suitable, so it's not the whole song, but it sets it all off nicely. **

**The reason I took this chapter down and now am putting it up again is because I use £ signs to show a page break, I can't get page breaks on my computer, so it has to be pound signs, but they don't show up on the new Doc thing have got going. so I'm trying to find a way around it . And I've also just realised it's done it on the last chapter too. Sorry guys! So it'll just say PAGE BREAK from now on.**

**PAGE BREAK**

"No!!" Kisara yelled, "Seth!! Seth wake up!!"

Irj ran up to the bed and grabbed the High Priest by the shoulders, shaking him violently, making his beautiful blue eyes flutter open and his consciousness extend enough to down another goblet of some medicine mixed with hot soup. Kisara grabbed a hot wet cloth from a nearby bowl and began to mop his face down with it, desperately trying to restore his body heat. She worked over his neck, shoulders and arms as the physicians piled blankets on, one holding their fingers to his pulse, making sure his heart was still beating, another retaking his temperature - no higher. Kisara prayed that it was only the cold of the night that was keeping him so cold, and prayed even harder as she saw the Sun begin to rise through the open window.

The physician with her fingers on Seth's wrist, blinked, and pressed her fingers a little harder. The pulse was weak, but she could feel it just. She pressed harder. Seemingly confused, she the checked the jugular artery on Seth's neck, before cursing violently.

"Shit..." she murmured, before shouting "No pulse!!"

Irj put his fingers to the artery too, before placing his hands flat over Seth's chest. "Pinch his nose and blow into his mouth when I tell you!" he bellowed at her, "Go go go!!" he shoved down on Seth's chest four times, "Blow!" then another four shoves, "Blow!"

"Seth please don't..." Kisara sobbed, her face stained red and stinging from tears. Still they continued trying to recussitate him, and still he lay motionless. She blinked - it was like the world had started moving in slow motion. The figures moving around her left blurry trails behind them, voices became faint - like she was underwater. _"Please don't..." _

How could he? He was so strong. How could Osiris take him now? _"You can't..." _She briefly heard Irj shout for a servant to take a message to the Pharaoh and the other Sacred Guardians, but she couldn't hear what it was. He was going to live... Any minute now they would feel his pulse again... And he would be fine. She had to trust the physicians - they were doing everything they could...

The woman who was blowing air into Seth's mouth's face suddenly changed from being serious and focused to being discreetly sad. "Lord Irj..." she said, "There has been no pulse for ten minutes."

Kisara's slow motion world suddenly caught up with reality. She looked to the Head Physician, who had stopped trying to revive him. He looked serious, yet his shoulders drooped. "Time of death..." he said slowly, "Third phase of sunrise."

Kisara felt like she'd been hit by a massive goods lorry travelling at ninety mile per hour. "No..." she murmured, "No he's not... Try again!"

Irj shook his head. "He's gone, Lady Kisara."

She stood frozen for a moment, before she took staggering steps to his side. "Seth..." her knees buckled and she collapsed into racking sobs, cradling him in her arms. She felt her heartstrings tear violently, and heard Lord Irj say something like "M'lady are you well?" She wanted to snap back "no I'm NOT well!!", but could find no feeling in her limbs or, in the rest of her for that matter. Everything was black.

**PAGE BREAK**

Seth couldn't feel anything - at first he hadn't even been aware of the fact that he wasn't conscious - no one ever realises they've been out until the start to come around - but instead of the voices he could here getting louder and clearer, they were getting quieter, as if he was being carried away from them - away from Kisara. He could feel her sitting beside him, her sadness, her pain, but she was getting further away from him. He was flying backwards as if being pulled by an invisible rope tied around his waist. His body stopped breathing, and his soul roared into life. He gave a shudder and an inward gasp, and suddenly he felt light. There was no pain - no sickness, no nothing. He opened his eyes, sat up, and climbed off the bed, feeling odd, but alright. Until he saw Kisara lying on the floor, unconscious.

"_Kisara!_" he shouted, kneeling down beside her, "_Kisara wake up!_" Irj also knelt down and propped her up. "_Irj, what is happening to her?_" he asked worriedly. The physician ignored him and talked to his collegues as if he hadn't even heard him. "_Irj!!_" he yelled, waving his hand infront of the physician's face, "_Irj!!_"

When the man did not reply, Something cold washed through him. Slowly, he turned around, and came head on with the sight of himself lying on the bed, pale as Death itself.

"_Am I dead...?_" he said, raising his eyebrows in a look which said "Oh my God".

"_Seth..._"

He spun around, his cloak flapping in a non-existant breeze. "_Kisara?_" he said, looking at her confusedly, and then to her body.

"_How...? What's happening?_" she asked him, almost crying again.

"_I don't know..._" he said, "_Are you dead?_"

"_I might as well be._" she sobbed.

"_Am I dead?_" he asked, taking her tightly into his arms.

"_Your heart hasn't beated for nearly fifteen minutes._" she replied.

**PAGE BREAK**

"You promised me you would save him." said Atem gravely, addressing Irj as if he were a sought-after criminal.

Irj looked sorry. "My condolancies. We tried our best, but it was simply not meant to be." he said, "He fought gallantly."

"**Argh!**" Atem slammed his clenched fists down on the bedside table, his knuckles white with rage, his teeth gritted and his eyes screwed shut. "**How could this happen?!**" he roared, "**I had them all checked for banned substances didn't I??**"

"Is it possible that the poison was intended for someone else - Prince Ptolemy was sitting at Seth's left hand side at the Ball. Is it possible someone tried to poison him and put into the wrong goblet or something?" Karim suggested.

"It's possible, but they were all checked at the gates, nothing should have gotten in." said Mahado, trying to hold his sorrow in, "I am so, so sorry." he sniffed, "This is my fault - I should have made them check more carefully."

"No Mahado..." said a tearful Isis, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug, "It's not your fault."

"Where is Akunadin?" Atem pondered.

"I went to his rooms, I've sent servants for him - no one seems to be able to find him." said Shaada.

"And now Kisara..." he whispered.

"She fainted." said the female physician, "Poor thing."

She then remained silent, thinking it best not to open her mouth too much before the Pharaoh. She was speechless anyway - she was fairly inexperienced, and being not quite used to the Death aspect of being a physician.

_**Between the lines of fear and blame,  
You begin to wonder why you came...**_

Pacing over to the store rooms, she gingerly lit the torch on the wall. Peering in between the little jars and pots, and then onto the gigantic bookcase where all patient records and medical books were kept. She picked out Seth's record and opened it. She gave an inward smile - it was practically empty - except for a few wounds aquired when training and a few cases of exhaustion. She dabbed her quill into an ink pot half-heartedly, and began to write.

_**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend,  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And, I would have stayed up with you all night,  
Had I known how to save a life...**_

_"Poisoning by Nwkhj..."_

_**Let him know that you know best,  
Cause after all you do know best,**_

Her quill ran out of ink on 'Nwkhjet'. Just as she went to refill it, she looked to the signing-out book, where, if people were removing items from the store rooms, they had to state what, when, who they were and why. A small thought crossed her mind. She left the record open and went back to the bookcase, running her finger along the spines of many old and priceless sources of information. She picked out one and began to flick through it, her eyes scanning for a particular word. Ah, there it was.

_"Nwkhjet, it's preparation, uses, and dangers."_

_**Where did I go wrong?**_

She skimmed down to the bit where it told you how to make it. "_Crikey,_" she thought, looking at the seemingly endless pages it gave for the brewing method, "_Someone would had to have gone to a lot of trouble to make this stuff._"

_**I lost a friend...**_

"Neferet, what are you doing?"

She spun around coming face to face with Lord Irj. "I was just filling in the High Priest's record, my Lord."

"The High Priest's record is in here?" he said, jabbing at the book she had open.

_**Somewhere along in the bitterness, and...**_

"Um, well..." she stuttered, before pulling herself together, "My Lord, would you not say that the ingredients required to brew Nwkhjet strongly ressemble those that have been going missing?"

_**I would have stayed up with you all night,**_

"Let me see." he said, pulling the tome towards him and squinting at the hieroglyphs. "Do you know," he said, crumpling his brow, "You might be right."

_**Had I known how to save a life...**_

**PAGE BREAK**

"_How are you here?_"

"_I don't know._" she sniffed as he wiped her tears away, "_I couldn't bear to see you die... Lord Irj thought you would live._"

"_I'm not strong enough._"

_**As he begins to raise his voice,  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice...**_

"_You are!!_" she protested, "_You are!! You are stronger than anyone._"

"_I need you..._" he whispered, "_I am scared..._"

She shook her head, tears flying either way. "_I won't let you go!_" she said, "_I won't!!_" wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him down. Her living soul was warm in comparison with the cold of Death on his back. "_We can do it together._"

_**Drive until you lose the road,  
Or break with the ones you've followed...**_

Seth let out a gasp of joy, and kissed her firmly, feeling unknown strength flood into him like a dam bursting it's banks. Together they struggled against the power of the Afterlife, she refusing to let go of him. His body got nearer and nearer, it was hard, Gods it was so hard, just to edge a little bit nearer. And strangely painful - it would be so much easier to just let go and let himself fall backwards. But no - he didn't want to die. He loved his life so much - he had so much to live for. And Kisara... He knew that if he didn't try now... He would lose everything.

**PAGE BREAK**

Akunadin swallowed, and lay down on his bed with agnosising impatience. Propping up his letter against a candlestick, he let tears fill into his eyes.

_**He will do one of two things,  
He will admit to everything...  
**_

How...?

"_How could I have done this?_"

_**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend,**_

"_What has happened to me?_"

_**  
Somewhere along in the bitterness**_

"_How could I have been so wrong? How could I have been so vile??_"

_**  
And, I would have stayed up with you all night,  
Had I known how to save a life...**_

"_My son... My only son... I owe you so much... First your family, and your true identity, and now your life and your love._"

_**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend,  
Somewhere along in the bitterness**_

"_I do not deserve you, and I could never ask you to forgive me..._"

_**  
And, I would have stayed up with you all night,**_

"_Only that you forget me._"

_**  
Had I known how to save a life...**_

**PAGE BREAK**

"My Pharaoh, your Majesties," Irj addressed as he and his collegue returned with the book, "We have some interesting news."

"What?" Atem practically spat.

"The ingredients that are used to brew Nwkhjet corresspond to those that have gone missing from the store rooms over the last couple of months." he informed, watching their faces for a response.

Atem's eyes went from side to side slowly, "Then it is an insider." he said, "Not the Greçians."

**PAGE BREAK**

"_Almost there!!_" Kisara said as she and Seth pulled harder against the torrent of Death. Out of the corner of his eye, Seth saw something. Something familiar.

He looked around for a moment, almost jumping with shock. "_Akunadin!!_"

The shouted-at did not respond as such. He simply watched. Watched how they clung to each other. Watched how his grown-up son's eyes had changed since she had first arrived at the Palace. He did not move. A shard of ice stabbed at his heart, tearing it apart. "_Seth... My son..._" he murmured, before he let the torrent pull him back.

"Wait... _Wait! What happened?_" Seth shouted after him.

Akunadin looked at him proudly. "_What should happen. Farewell, my son._"

"_Father..._" he whispered, the word seemingly echoing eerily around them. Akunadin's spirit got further and further away, falling, falling, falling...

And then he was gone.


	13. It's all about the medicine

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Okay, in case any of you were getting a bit confused, in this fic Seth already knows he's Atem's cousin - it doesn't matter when he found out, I guess you could say he's known about two years, so finding out when he was 16 or something, it doesn't really matter. Use your imaginations!! So here's the next chapter. Kind of interesting... **

**PAGE BREAK**

Meanwhile, Atem was kneeling at his cousin's bedside, his hand clasped around Seth's left wrist. It was true, about him not knowing how to live without a guide - since his father died, Seth had subtlely taken over the role as his confident. His friend, his rival, his last remaining family, to whom he would tell anything.

His only family was gone...

Akunadin did not count. Atem knew he could not fully trust him, and he certainly could not talk to him about which girls he had a fancy for, and so on and so forth. Seth was not a friendly person - he was the strict, callous, professional High Priest, but talking with him like he had once been able to, and he would see the façade slip away, and there was the youthful prince again...

He felt a tear slide down his cheek.

The Sacred Guardians saw this. Shaada closed his eyes. The sadness in these people's souls was incredible. His Millennium Key glinted, but Shaada looked deeper into it, sensing that not all souls present were mourning. That couldn't be right, surely? They were all in tears!

"Karim, search the hearts of all present." he said, not taking his eyes away from Seth and Irj, who was removing the dressing from the cut that the other physicians had made earlier to take a blood sample.

The Sacred Guardian of the Scales looked up. "What?" he asked.

"I sense that we are not the only souls present."

"What do you mean?" Isis sniffed, wiping her eyes.

Shaada concentrated again. "I don't know, but my Key counts the presence of nine souls, when I only count seven people." he explained.

"That makes no sense!" Karim protested.

"Look, just do it." he said.

"Fine." Karim closed his eyes and the Scales shone brightly.

"What do you see?"

"Seven hearts united in mourning." he said in a zombie-sort of way, "One mourning family, four mourning a friend. Two a patient. Yet, four souls, two pairs, united in love."

"What?" asked Atem, "How can there be two? There is only Mahado and Isis."

Neferet blinked a few times. "No..." she said, "No, there are two." she gestured to Kisara, and then to Seth.

"What?" Irj practically spat, "You cannot seriously think that..."

"That's not possible!" Isis exclaimed, holding her hand over her mouth.

"So what you're saying," said Mahado, astounded, "Is that their souls are present? Here now?"

Irj went over to check Kisara. "She is alive." he said, "Out cold, but very much alive."

"I don't understand..." Atem whispered, his hand still clasped around Seth's wrist.

"I... I think I do..." Isis murmered, clutching her Millennium Necklace, "Their love is so powerful that while she lives, he cannot truly die."

"How is that possible?" Mahado asked.

"I, I don't know."

A soft, feminine voice let out a groan behind them, and cold but nonetheless living hand clasped at the bedlinen. Kisara weakly heaved herself up onto her elbows, wiping her eyes gently, trying to clear the fuzziness from her vision.

Isis spun around. "Kisara!!"

Irj was at her side again in an instant. "My lady, are you alright?"

"I..." she began, "I think so..."

As if her purpose in life had just dawned on her, she practically launched herself off the bed, through the crowd of mourners and looked over Seth, like an angel watching over, holding his hand firmly. "Come on..." she whispered to him, "You can do it Seth, I know you can..."

She pleaded with the Gods, with herself - had she done enough? She could feel his spirit near, so near, he was so close...

"Kisara, it is too late." said Isis, her heart wrenching at the sight.

"It's not." she retorted, "It's not too late. He is going to be alright."

"Kisara he has been gone for almost twenty minutes."

The young woman spun around. For eyes as deeper blue as hers, they contained a lot of fire. Her lip tightened and her expression set. She had not pulled a face like that since she had been trying to persuade Seth to take her on as a pupil. "It's not too late." And with that, she swept gracefully down to the other side of the bed from Atem, and put her hand on his arm. Like a weak defribrillator, as if just to help him a little more, she let an amount of her power seep through her body into his. Concentrating hard on her target. It was an odd feeling, like she was trying to use her mind to telekinetically piece bits of him back together again. Atem watched in amazement as the cut in his arm where they had taken the blood sample, which Irj had freshly undressed, began to close up of seemingly it's own accord. He gasped silently as under the palm of his hand he felt warmth return to Seth's body. Irj also watched with extreme interest, blinking a few times.

Kisara blocked the flow of power, feeling her energy drain out of her like water escaping down a plughole. He felt warm again. Not as warm as should be when healthy, but warm enough to live. She studied his face carefully, and breathed a half, no quarter breath as she felt his spirit inside his body again. Atem, who before had looked just as puzzled as the others, gave a small smirk. This smirk slowly became an expression of disbelief, as he made a waving gesture to Irj to come over to him. The hand that was covering his wrist moved off it, inviting Irj to feel.

"It's not possible..." Atem exclaimed, his eyes wide and frantic.

"What, my Pharaoh?" Mahado asked inquistively.

Atem grinned from ear to ear. "There's a pulse."

**PAGE BREAK**

Seth mentally slash spiritually groaned. Was he dead of alive? He wasn't quite sure yet. He felt like he was wearing some kind of ridiculous costume which was massively too big for him. He stretched out his limbs, seemingly filling the costume until it fitted perfectly. As a spirit, he had felt vaguely normal, apart from the fact he didn't have a body and didn't breathe, however, now that he was back inside his body, it felt strange. It was freezing cold, and all of him felt numb, even his own brain, which was inactive and starved of oxygen. At first there was nothing, and he felt sure that he would descend back towards Death again, when all of a sudden, he felt this incredible warmth - not even warmth, this glow. Which started from his arm and flowed to all areas of his body. It felt like he was basking in some sort of heavenly, angelic light. It was like it was a beautiful medicine nursing him back to life. Slowly, but surely, a ringing began sound in his ears, and through it, he heard and felt a _lub-dub _..._ lub-dub..._

His ears began to work again, he could hear voices outside - his chest took the smallest of heaves and air rushed into his lungs, sweet sweet oxygen dissolved into his blood, and bit by bit, he began to feel something in his limbs again. Daytime hallucinations started floating across his vision as his brain seemed to wake up - his own thoughts becoming clear to himself.

_"Kisara..."_ his mind murmured, relishing her presence.

Like he was rising up from underwater, he broke through the surface of consciousness, his voice letting out a small groan. His eyes fluttered, vision still clouded by floaters, but he could just see... People, people he knew, people he liked, but would never admit to it, and people he loved.

He saw Kisara to his right, looking tired, but overjoyed, and Atem to his left, who was still crying, but now from joy rather than sadness.

Atem cried for him?

He let out a small cough. "Atem you big girl..." he mumbled weakly, "Pull yourself together will you?"

The Pharaoh of Egypt smirked hysterically and wiped his eyes. "He's back."

Irj wore an expression of astonishment slapped on his face, whereas Neferet simply looked happy, before knocking herself out of her trance, and preceeded to pull the chain on the wall the call for more physicians.

"Lord Irj, he has still been poisoned by Nwkhjet!" she said, grabbing more antidote and pouring it into a goblet and mixing it with some warm water and herb essences, "We need hot water, towels, hot food and drink!"

Irj now looked like he had been slapped around the face. "Rê preserve us..." he exclaimed, "I've been told."

"My lady..." said Atem to the young physician, "What is your name?"

Neferet looked honoured. "It is Neferet, my Pharaoh." she replied, curtseying as she tended to Seth.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Have a pay rise." he said, "Of two-thousand gold deben a year."

She paled. "My Pharaoh, I... I could never accept..."

"For caring." he said, standing up and letting Kisara have Seth to herself for a bit, "I have met many a physician who has become so numb to the deaths of patients that they no longer keep trying, the love of preserving life wanes. You also used your head. You spotted the similarity in ingredients, and stopped us from, in our anger, accusing an innocent man. You have my respect, Lady Neferet."

"Thank you my Pharaoh." she said, as she continued to force Seth to drink the antidote.

Irj looked proud of her. She would go a long way. He smiled inwardly, before he began to bark orders again. "You, more warm water! You, food, now! ..."

Neferet chuckled to himself and plumped a new pillow for him. "You know," she said to an exhausted Kisara, "It was almost like you healed him just then. Magically."

"I just had to do something." she said, "I didn't know what I was doing... It just happened."

"Lord Irj will probably try and recruit you now - they're always looking for physicians with healing powers." she said, "They can save lives that would otherwise be lost."

She smiled, and gave a loving glance at Seth, who seemed to be dozing off contently. Seth was safe, but...

She blinked twice before gasping audibly and putting her hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" Isis asked.

"Master Akunadin..." she said.

**PAGE BREAK**

_'To whomever it may concern,_

_I hope that I will be cold by the time this is read. It is no less than I deserve, and in doing this I have only proceeded to do what the Law of the Kingdom would have decreed. The punishment for attempted murder is death, as I am sure you are aware. However even if it were not, you would still be reading this now. I hope that my soul is damned, alas I made a terrible mistake._

_It was I who poisoned Seth. I, who in my foolish and petty delirium, took the life of my only son. I, who brewed the Nwkhjet, I who administered it. putting it into his wine the other night. This was unforgivable. However, it was not my intention._

_I did not intend this fate for Seth, which may or may not show - I am sure the physicians have discovered that the dosage was not correct. The poison was not intended for Seth, it was intended for Kisara._

_I wanted Seth to avoid making the same mistake that I did - falling in love with a woman that would never be safe from people trying to get to you. That does not mean that Seth was a mistake, for he was my pride and joy ever since he returned to us, and I realise, in hindsight, of his love and of mine, that I was fatally wrong to call it a mistake. I knew how much it hurts, and I did not want that for him. _

_I suppose you ask, if she would be killed by your enemies, why should I try to kill her? _

_Compared to what could happen, it was merciful. That was how our sister died. Yes, the sister of Akunumkanon and I. Her name was Ankhotep. She and Seth's predecessor, Secmenton fell in love. He went away for a few days for a meeting with the Greçian bureaucrats. She died a horrible death, but not after she was tortured and raped by bandits in Kul Elna because she would not give information as to his exact whereabouts. Did you ever see Secmenton so much as look at another woman since? The answer would be no. That was twenty years ago. Frightened it would happen to Seth's mother or Seth, I sent them away. And, while Kisara certainly is not the most eligible girl, I would not want that for her. _

_But even I could not see how badly wrong I was. I did not see the extent of Seth's feelings, I thought it might have been a passing fancy. But I see now, that by harming Kisara I was harming someone that was worth more to him than his own life. _

_For this disgusting and unforgivable crime, it is my wish that I receive no funarary rites, nothing. I could not ask mercy of you, only that you will all wish me nothing but pain and suffering in the stomach of Ammit. _

_Akunadin, former Priest of the Millennium Eye.'_

The Priestess of the Millennium Necklace was speechless.

She did not call guards, to remove Akunadin, she did not let out a scream at the sight of a dead man. She simply and silently picked up the empty vial which was on the bedside table, and carried both, without a word, back to this Infirmary.

**PAGE BREAK**

She paced, still silently, into the Infirmary. Atem walked out of where Seth was still being treated to meet her in the open ward, the smell of various medicines lingering in the air.

Seeing the look on her face, his expression changed. "Isis, what is the matter?" he asked concernedly.

She gave the little bottle to Lord Irj, and the letter to the teenage Pharaoh. "What is this?" Irj remarked, holding the bottle up to the light, "What is going on?"

Isis watched as Atem's eyes scrolled down the page of papyrus, his expression changing a little for the worse the more he read. Eventually he sighed loudly, and cradled his head in his hand. "I presume that this means..." he began.

Isis nodded.

"This is a variation of Nwkhjet." said Irj on closer examination of the bottle, "Still nasty, but much, much quicker. It was the stuff they used to give to the soldiers in case they were caught ans interrogated so they wouldn't give information."

"He is still in his chambers." Isis explained, "We need to tell the others."

"Should we tell Seth?" Atem asked, "What if it makes his health worse?"

"Knowing Seth if we don't tell him he'll never forgive us. He has a right to know."

Atem nodded, looking back into the treatment room. "So be it. But... how did Lady Kisara know?"

"We should ask her, but not now." she replied, "Shall I make arrangements for Akunadin's burial, my Pharaoh? As he has requested no funarary rites."

Atem sighed again. "Yes. Thank you Isis."

She gave a small curtsey, before leaving, leaving Atem alone in the open ward. Taking in a deep breath of air, he slowly made his way back into the treatment room, where his cousin gave him a weak yet suspecting look.

"What has happened?" he murmured.

"Seth..." he began, "Akunadin has committed suicide."

Seth's eyes shot open, but then relaxed again. "I know."

Atem blinked. "Wait... What? How can you...?" he asked.

"So I wasn't seeing things..."

"What do you mean?"

"I um... I, I had some kind, some sort of... out-of-body experience..." he looked around more, "At least I, I think I did. I wasn't in my body anymore, I... There was a bright shining light far below me... Nothing around me, just like swirling clouds... It was so cold. Then... I saw Kisara..."

"What?" Atem sat down on a chair and listened with more interest.

"She told me, that I had been dead for nearly ten minutes." he said, "She didn't know why she was there... I kept saying I wasn't strong enough, and she kept telling me that I was. I was scared... But... She refused to let me go... She wrapped her arms around me, and it was like she was pulling me back towards Life... And that was when I saw Akunadin..."

"You saw Akunadin?"

"I called out to him... He was falling backwards towards the light. He spoke to me. I asked him what had happened... He said; "What should happen", and told me farewell. It was like he fell into oblivion."

"He is truly gone." Atem said, "He left only a letter of confession. Shall I read it?"

"Confession?"

"Yes."

Seth nodded. "Please."

Atem unfolded the papyrus and began to read, bringing each of the hieroglyphs on the page to life. As he read through the passage, he kept glancing upwards above the top of the parchment to check Seth's reaction. It was minimal. He kept his eyes down, and remained still. Perhaps to hide something. Atem wasn't sure, but as he read the final line, it dawned on him that Seth had just lost his father, and he started to feel a little awkward, "I am sorry."

Instead of the 'don't be' that Atem had half-expected, his cousin lay still for a moment, his eyes darting to the side, and then slowly back to meet his gaze. "Thank you." he said, "I suppose he wrote this presuming I was dead. You know, this is really quite awkward."

"Are you alright?"

"I am not sorry for him." he said, "Not in the slightest. At least he was honest though. Which is an improvement on his part. But..." he took a breath, "...it makes me a little happier, that, even in a morphed, twisted, selfish and sadistic way, he did want the best for me."

"I suppose."

"So what will you do about the Eye?"

Atem screwed his nose slightly. "I think it should be buried with him. Whosoever replaces him would not want to have their eye gouged out to make room for it, I should think."

"You'll get more applicants for the job that way yes."

"Why are you in such a good mood?"

Seth smirked, "I don't know." he said, "It could be the medicine these bloody physicians have got me on, or it could be the fact that I'm alive, I have Kisara and I'm happy happy happy."

Atem raised an eyebrow.

Seth's face turned more sadistic. "It's all about the medicine, trust me."


	14. New priests feelings doors & flowerpots

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: I am so bloody annoyed!! Because of the changes have made, all the chapters I have written for any fic now have no bloody page breaks!! My laptop won't put normal pagebreaks in so I use three pound signs, but they don't show up anymore!! Damn it!! Sorry about that guys it really ruins the fic. From now on, I shall write PAGEBREAK and then there shall be no way in which could ever foil me!!**

**Oh, and also, I am sooooooooooooooooo sorry that this hasn't been up earlier. I blame exams again. Oh, and writer's block. That too. Anyway, it's here now!!**

**PAGEBREAK**

"Look, will you leave it! It's alright!! I can walk by myself! Let me go!!"

"And Karim is Mr. Congeniality." said Mahado sarcastically as he and Kisara supported Seth, with his one arm around his shoulder and the other around her waist, "Since when did you get so heavy??"

Seth scowled lethally. "I am 6ft 4!! And it's muscle!!"

Kisara grinned. "Alright calm down we believe you."

Mahado looked at her deviously. "I don't."

As Seth's legs weakly allowed him to walk down to dinner for the first time in a few months, he felt inwardly glad that no one was there to see him being practically carried down the hallway. Things could only be worse if...

Isis seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Aw..." she clapped her hands together, "I am so happy that you are finally feeling better!"

He frowned. "You are so lucky you are pregnant, or _you_ wouldn't be!"

She instinctively put a hand to her now six-month old bump and smiled uncontrollably. "I can feel it kicking now." she said.

"How long now?" asked Kisara.

"Three moontides!!" she grinned, as Kisara bounded up and hugged her tightly, "Oh, and I forgot to ask, now you're out of bed."

"What?"

"Will you marry us?" she asked, as Mahado left Seth with Kisara and went to her side.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Um... Which one of you? Because you," he looked at her, "you're old and you," he looked at Mahado, "you're a bloke."

Mahado looked sarcastically touched. "Hah!!" he inhaled sharply, grinning inanely, whilst keeping his eyes narrow, "You noticed!!"

Isis however, simply looked annoyed. "Will you conduct the ceremony?"

"And why the Hell would I want to do that?"

"Because you love us really."

"You see, Isis, I do not love you, I do not even particularly like you, and this brings up yet another round of 'why the Hell should I do anything for you?'. indeed, the contest is never-ending. However," he said, "If you're going to pay me, that would be feasible."

"That would be fine." said Mahado, squeezing Isis' hand.

Isis smiled. "Thank you." she said, before she and Mahado turned away and made their way to eat, "Are we really going to pay him?" she whispered to Mahado.

"Hell no."

Kisara giggled, guessing at what they were saying, and continued to help Seth. She was only helping him if you looked closely. On normal inspection they were just arm in arm. "You remember what Lord Irj said," she reminded him, "No more than three hours work a day."

"Please, please don't talk to me like Isis does." he moaned, "I just want everything to be back to normal."

"It soon will be." she said, "And the Pharaoh wanted me to introduce you to Akunadin's replacement."

He looked down at her, blinking. "Took a while to replace him." he remarked, "So what's his name?"

"_Her _name is Iu-Amenitrê." Kisara replied, feeling a bit strange about the 'replacing Seth's father topic', "I am sorry about your father."

"He tried to kill you. You need not be so accepting." he didn't have to look at her to feel she felt confused, "What is the matter?"

She sighed. "Sometimes..." she said slowly, "I wonder if perhaps, he was right."

He glared. "No!"

"Maybe I am a danger to you."

"Kisara..." he said, "People saw what you did when Mana released your Ka all that time ago. That news travelled far and wide. No one will be in any hurry to kidnap you!"

"But I can't control it." she said, "It was just that one time."

"I can teach you." he said, "I may not be so keen on my own magic, but summoning Kas with Shadow Magic I can teach you."

"Really?"

"Besides..." he said, "Even if you had no White Dragon, I would make you safe. You would have more guards than the Pharaoh, the protection you so deserve... And if being the High Priest still puts you in danger, I can always resign." he said cheekily.

"Don't be silly." she chided.

"I mean it!!"

There was a moment of silence, before she opened her mouth again. "You would really do that?"

His gaze softened. "Yes."

As they entered the Upper Refractory they could hear the vague clattering of food dishes and trays and people barking orders. The Upper Refractory was for the Priests, Masters, and Royal Family only, so it was more like a restaurant than the Lower Refractory, which was like a cantine - for pretty much everyone else. Sometimes Atem ate in his own chambers - it was easy enough to have it brought to him, but, unlike Seth, he disliked being alone for long periods of time, not even to gather his thoughts. He liked the company, and would sometimes, if it was fairly empty, sneak into the Lower Refractory with Mana.

However, this time, it was not the usual ensemble. Seth began to force himself to walk by himself, and let Kisara walk by his side. Mahado and Isis sat together, Shimun, Karim and Shaada were there too, however this time, next to Atem sat an energetic Mana, trying her best to behave maturely, and there was also a young woman whom Seth had never seen before. She was in her mid-twenties, he would guess, and wore a strange head-ornament which showed her crown, but was pinned into her hair about four centimetres above her ear all the way around, so you could see her crown, and then a sheet of white, which was actually quite elegant, once Seth had given it some consideration. She had a dress like Isis' and had hazel-ish eyes.

"Hm Ntjr Seth, Lady Kisara," said Atem, as he got to his feet, and beckoned the woman to stand as well, "this is Iu-Amenitrê, our new Lector Priestess."

"Nice to meet you." said Kisara.

"Charmed." said Seth distractedly.

"Thank you." she said, "I trust you have recovered well, Hm Ntjr?"

"I have." he replied.

"Let's eat!!" Atem announced as they all retook their seats.

Kisara took a look around the table, and couldn't help but notice the youth of the Pharaoh's Court. Normally, Pharaohs valued age and hence wisdom on their Courts, however Atem did not. From what she knew of all of them, she knew that age and wisdom were not necessarily entwined, and she supposed that Atem must have known that too. Shimun was the only person who she could describe as old - Seth would call all of them old, but she did not think so. Shaada was the next oldest, and couldn't be older than thirty-eight, and the others were all much younger. Priestess Iu-Amenitrê seemed to be, from what Kisara could see, very highly intelligent and sharp, yet she still had the sparkle of someone ten years younger. Kisara was also happy that they had picked another woman. Despite Egyptian women having more rights than women of other countries, most of them were married by the time there were eighteen. If they were not, it could been two things. The first, was that they were either very poor, like Kisara was, very ugly, or had unamiable personalities. The other thing it could mean was that they were strong-minded and determined - to get an education, to work and support themselves. This kind of woman were not so sought after for marriage, but could go far up the hierachy. Atem liked to have at least one woman on the court, as his father always had. It provided a good balance and a slightly different perspective. Kisara admired these powerful women, so elegant and untouchable. To be up there with the most powerful men. With sorcerers like Mahado, warriors like Karim, advisors like Shimun and Shaada, and great minds like Seth. It was something to be proud of.

"So what did you do before?" asked Isis as servants arrived with plates of food.

Iu-Amenitrê smiled. "I taught Classical Civilisations and ancient languages at the Academy of Alexandria." she said, "I taught mainly students of fourteen to eighteen years of age. I suppose I've dabbled in lots of things."

"Have you dabbled in Magic?" asked Mahado.

"In Alchemy, but not other branches." she said, taking a sip from her goblet, "It was never my forté. Now, um..." she looked puzzled for a moment, "You must introduce me again, because I think I've forgotten names, and I feel a little stupid." she laughed.

"We shall tell you a little about each of us." said Mahado, "I am Mahado, I am a sorcerer and mage, and I teach Magic, oh, and I like to annoy Seth."

The table broke out in chuckles and Seth looked peeved.

"I am Isis, I am a Seer. Along with Seth, I do, well, pretty much anything that needs doing. Ecomony and politics mostly. I like to annoy Seth also."

"I'm Karim, I am Head of the Army and I'm in charge of all military affairs."

"I'm Shaada, I am an advisor, I deal with national relations."

"I am Shimun, I am a Grand Visier."

Seth looked a little disgruntled. "I'm Seth, I'm also a Grand Visier and I deal with international relations, economy and law. However I specialise in languages, phonetics and articulate speech. Oh, and I seem to have aquired the post of Royal Babysitter."

"Seth!" said Isis sharply, like a mother scolding her child. Atem merely smirked. He was quite used to this.

Mana looked nervous. "Um, I'm Mana... I'm Mahado's student." she said.

"And that's the Midget Pharaoh of Egypt, by the way." said Seth, gesturing to Atem with a lazy hand. Isis looked offended and Mahado sweat-dropped.

Iu-Amenitrê's brow raised. "I can see Seth is quite a character." she said to Isis.

"Yes... Yes..." she said, "You will learn to cope with him."

Iu-Amenitrê let her brow fall again. "And..." she turned to Kisara, "Who is this young lady?"

"I am Kisara..." she said meekly, before becoming more confident, but before she could continue, Mahado chipped in:

"This is the lady who has stolen Seth's heart." he said, and Kisara blushed slightly.

Seth nodded sarcastically. "Well-observed." he said, giving several slow claps with his hands.

Kisara was actually glad for Mahado's intervention, as she had no clue as to what she should say. 'We are sleeping together', would not sound good, 'we are in love' sounded foolish, and Seth would never forgive her, and she would have to lie otherwise. She silently thanked Mahado.

Iu-Amenitrê smiled softly. Seth certainly was an interesting character. He was very handsome, yes, but his attitude... How could this girl steal his heart? And how could this girl love him back? Indeed if she did. She found she had to turn away again when Shimun began a new topic of conversation, yet Seth and this girl Kisara seemed uninterested after the first few minutes. She glanced back at them through the corner of her eye, seeing that they were looking at each other, and seemed quite lost in one another. She saw the expression on her new collegue's face - soft, gentle. Quickly averting her gaze back to Atem, who was talking about Shadow Magic, she now saw the answer. They needed no reason. It was simply love.

**PAGEBREAK**

The meal went on for what felt like ages. Seth found himself getting bored, and his body, which was still getting used to being off the medicine, was aching to go. He wanted to sleep... So much...

Seth was lucky however, that his cousin was more awake than he gave him credit for, and could see that Seth was becoming exhausted. He brought the conversation to a steady end and made an appropriate injection that it was very late and they had much work to do tomorrow. As the party disbanded, Seth and Kisara left with Atem.

"Thank you." Seth whispered to his cousin.

"Rest well cousin." he said, "You need not do any work until tomorrow evening. I have ordered the servants not to bother you."

Seth smiled. "Thank you. Good night cousin."

Atem smiled and walked off to his own chambers, letting Kisara walk Seth back to his room. On arrival, Seth pulled off his headdress and tossed it aside, and collapsed straight onto the bed, kicking off his shoes and taking a deep breath of his own sheets. "The beds in the Infirmary are awful." he murmured.

"Come on..." Kisara said, patting him firmly on the thigh, "The servants won't be pleased if you've slept in your work-clothes and expect them clean and pressed when they haven't had time to do it." she chided, throwing him his shenti, which landed on his head.

"Thank you..." came a muffled reply from beneath the fabric. He pulled it off and lazily began to change.

Kisara simply took off her dress and stepped out of her shoes - she had a loose slim-line petticoat-like garment, she thought it would do. She had left her nightgown in her own room - having not slept in Seth's room for three months. For many of those nights she had slept at his side in the chair in the Infirmary. She remembered the last time she slept here - a beautiful and passion-filled night, when they had admitted that they did not want to stop pretending. It had felt so good - him on top of her, kissing her, taking her to such heights of ecstasy that she would have been crying out if he had not been kissing her. She knew it felt good for him too, and that was the best thing.

Likewise, Seth would have been screaming had he not been kissing her. It seemed to him like making love to her was the only way to express how strongly he felt about her. He had also noted how, the deeper his feelings for her became, the better it was. It felt incredible physically, but emotionally it felt like they were flying. Seth had, for three months now, fully accepted that he was in love, and had had plenty of time to think about it. He almost laughed at himself as he remembered how he denied it. Romance was the stuff of stories, fantasies and musings. And this certainly was a bad fanfic. However, bad fanfics can come true. Stories, fantasies and musings were all based on truths - wild truths, but truths all the same. So it can be said, that romance can become true. And indeed it certainly had.

That night seemed to lodge itself in their minds as their heads hit the soft, downy pillows. How willingly he would do it again, if only he wasn't so tired! He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply - the first time in three months that he held her in his arms, not the other way around.

And that was how they lay - in each other's embrace. Just before sleep overcame them and their eyes fluttered shut, a small whisper caught the night air. They both whispered it instantaeously.

"_I love you._"

**PAGEBREAK**

Still lying tightly in each other's embrace, Kisara was the first one who woke from blissful slumber. She kept her eyes closed for as long as possible, relaxing more than comfortably in Seth's arms. She inhaled and exhaled softly in sync with the gentle rise and fall of his chest. From the faint bustle she could hear through the open window and the light trying to filter through the drapes, it was late morning. She was so happy that she felt like she could have just fallen back to sleep again, she never wanted this to end. She lay there for what felt like forever, slightly annoyed that her body was waking up, and she glanced up at his face.

He was still out like a light. She was so happy that he was better - to think three months ago she had so very nearly lost him. She let her fingers stroke his chest gently.

A small smirk broke out on his face. "That tickles..." he murmured.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're awake?"

Seth opened one eye and looked down on her. "Yes indeedy."

Kisara laughed. " 'Yes indeedy'?" she prodded him in the chest, "You don't say 'yes indeedy'. You grunt at best."

"I am feeling happy."

She frowned. "Who are you and what have you done with Seth?"

He looked offended. "Do you doubt my capacity to be happy?"

"Um... No... But I do doubt your capacity to show it." she said, continuing to stroke his chest.

He chuckled. "I said that tickles." he said.

She smirked wickedly. "Oh really?" she asked, "No. This tickles!"

Before Seth could even take in what she had said, she moved like a flash, straddling his hips, pinning him down and proceeding to tickle him wherever she could without mercy. Seth laughed. His eyes were screwed shut and he threw back his head on the pillow. "No no no stop..." he howled, trying to knock her off, but if he did it meant raising his arms, which meant she would just tickle under them, making it worse. His laughter blocked up his airways as it worsened and he found himself short of breath. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like this - he didn't even know if he ever had. He began to heave, "Stop stop stop" as his muscles began to tense without his command and his body started to writhe uncontrollably.

"Stop!!"

"Never!"

Just like in the Infirmary, Kisara felt a surge of magic from somewhere deep inside his soul, and once again, items began to vibrate and levitate off their surfaces. She slowed her tickling slightly to watch, fascinated as things floated across the room. Seth closed his eyes and let a free flow of magic out, which was just as well, because if he hadn't, Kisara would have seen a blue light appear in his eyes. The flying objects began to glow too, as if they were on fire, but blue fire.

"Wow..." she whispered, her eyes keenly following various things around the room. She stopped tickling him, knowing it was good for him to let this out, but when she also knew he could not control it it would not be wise to push her luck. Instead she ran her hands from his abdomen, where they currently lay, up and over his chest and rubbed his shoulders gently. "Ssh..." she soothed, "Calm down."

Hearing her voice seemed to calm him very efficiently, and the blue fire-like glow faded and the objects slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Seth let out a massive breath and concentrated on her touch and sound. His eyes fluttered open, and Kisara saw the same blue fire-like ambiance in the orbs of his eyes.

"It's alright." he said, as if he had read her mind. He blinked several times, and his eyes returned to their normal colour.

"Is all this 'making things float' going to be a problem?" she asked.

"I hope not." he said, before folding his arm over his aching stomach muscles, "Rê..." he exclaimed.

"Yes indeedy." she said, before resuming the game of tickle Seth into a frenzy.

Seth thrashed as he began to laugh again, not thinking he could take much more. His muscles hurt too much and breathing was really becoming a problem. In one quick manouver, Seth slid down onto his back, so that she now sat over his waist, and used this new flexibilty to kick his knees up, causing her to topple forwards. Grabbing her forearms, he craftily caught her and swung her underneath him in one smooth motion. Pinning her down with his weight. Even if she was now in a better position to spit at, shove or kick him where the Sun doesn't normally shine, it was harder for her to move as he was so damn heavy!

He began to leave hot seducing kisses over her neck, trailing up to her right ear, where he purred slowly in a voice more heavenly than that of God Himself: "_You will pay for that_."

**PAGEBREAK**

"That was..." she panted several hours later, "That was _incredible_!"

Seth rolled off her, once again exhausted, in a starcrossed daze. He was so out of breath that he was completely speechless.

"I should tickle you more often." she said, pulling the bedcover over her as a substitute for Seth's warmth - she far preferred him. She pulled it over both of them and snuggled up to him, "I was... Thinking of moving out soon..."

She felt his arms around her tighten. "Oh no you are not!!" he said, wrapping the cover around her.

"Why not?" she giggled.

"Because, one; you can't move. Two; if you do I will leave no stone unturned no house unsearched and no person un-interrogated until I've found you again!" he said, playing with her soft hair while she wriggled her arms out of the cover and tangled her fingers in his. "And..." he lowered his voice, "I... I can't... I... I need you."

She closed her eyes laid her head in the groove of his neck. She had only been joking. "I need you too."

"Don't leave me... Please..."

"Never." she whispered, "Not as long as I live."

"Kisara..." he began, wetting his lip, "I was wondering... Of course I don't blame you if you say no..."

"What is it?" she blinked.

"Would you go somewhere with me?"

She tightened her grasp slightly on his hair, "Anywhere."

"This is probably silly and at the very least too much to ask of you..." he said, "But, I wanted to go to... Akunadin's grave." she was silent, "I know knowing what he tried to do to you..."

She cut him off with a soft kiss. "It's not silly." she said, "It's not silly at all. Despite all that... I think he does love you Seth. Even if not me. He _is _your father."

"You say it like he is still here." he replied.

"I think he is, in some respects."

"Hm... I don't know why I even want to go, we didn't exactly have a normal father-son relationship. I just feel like I ought to. Something in me won't lay to rest until I do."

"Then we shall go." she said.

"It is silly, and like I said to him before, it is too late."

She bit her lip. "Better late than never."

**PAGEBREAK**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, squeezing his arm affectionately. They were both standing before a freshly re-turfed grave, tinged slightly orange with the setting of the Sun. Seth's gaze fixed itself on the stone. This was the Garden of Rest. People who did not qualify to be mummified but had served the Pharaoh well were buried here. His eyes took a sweep of the Garden - all the tombstones there were so very old, the hieroglyphs depicting the deceased before them were on some, almost worn away, and on most were faint and worn by nothing but the breeze. His blue orbs returned to the stone in front of him. Newly etched into the stone, were the glyphs of his father's name. As clear as day. He forced himself out of his trance, realising he hadn't answered her:

"Yes." he said quietly, "I never really regarded him as having anything to do with me, and yet..." he paused, "I feel like a part of me has gone with him. I suppose blood really is thicker than water." he wet his lip, "He was cold, arrogant, sometimes evil..." he took a breath, "But then, so was I." Kisara's eyebrows rose as she listened, "And I didn't even realise, not until now, how alike we actually were."

"Seth..." she whispered, her voice flowing over him like a sheet of silk, soothing him, "You aren't evil. Everything you are or may be, but there isn't an evil bone on your body."

Seth's heart fluttered. He took a few steps forward, and sat down cross-legged in the grass. Kisara remained standing. This was his moment. Seth, now he thought about it, hadn't sat cross-legged in the grass in a long time, not since he was a child. He picked at the grass between his legs, and twiddled it in his fingers nervously.

"Hello..." he began, clasping his hands in his lap, looking down and around, anywhere but straight at the gravestone, "I... I am not quite sure what to say..." he finally looked directly at the stone and took a deep breath, "I knew I had to come here. To set my own mind at rest at least. I suppose you took your own life when you heard I was dead... And I would be too. If it weren't for her..." he pulled and at fiddled with blades of grass between his fingertips, "Is that why you never told me about my heritage?" he asked, "To protect me? I was so angry..." he admitted, "I was angry at you before I even knew you. Not for leaving me, but for leaving Mother. She missed you so... I thought that, if perhaps, when she died, if you had been there for her she might have lived. I don't know... When I came here... You were there for me but not in the way, you maybe should have been. Then when you told me I, I couldn't understand why you hid it. You said you sent Mother and I away for safety, but, Atem was allowed to stay. And... Well... I still don't understand. Not completely anyway. I wanted to say sorry I suppose. I didn't ever think I would be doing this. I thought when you eventually died, I wouldn't mind. All this has taught me, that dancing on someone's grave is more difficult than I ever imagined it to be. All I know is..." he took another breath, before looking to Kisara, who nodded, "I will prove you wrong. And... I don't care if Kisara isn't a princess or an aristocrat's daughter." he said, making her look up in a little surprise. His head shaking slowly from side to side as the words fell from his tongue, his eyes glassed over and tears welled. He gave a small laugh, "I don't care that she used to be a flowergirl on the streets, or that her skin is fair, or that I may bring my own reputation down by it. I love her father. And without her... I would be no one. And now..." he said slowly, "And now..."

Kisara put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"And now..." he said, a new light sparking in his blue orbs, "And now, I can finally move on with my life."

Brushing the blades of grass from his lap, he untangled his long legs and stood up, a contented expression on his face. He offered Kisara his arm, who took it gracefully. "Goodbye. Akunadin."

**PAGEBREAK**

That evening, in Mahado's study, Seth knocked on the door with his fist. "Mahado, are you coming to the Refractory for supper or are you going to sit in there like a prat for the rest of the evening?"

"I'm going to sit in here like a prat!!"

"Mahado open the Rê-damned door!!"

"No."

"Mahado open the door or I will!!"

"Oh yes? How?"

"I'll blast it down." said Seth, his ear pressed to the door so he could hear Mahado's words. He heard a scoff.

"Like you know how." Mahado answered.

Seth bit his lip. Blowing down Mahado's door probably wasn't a good idea. Then again... "I'll open it then."

Inside his room, Mahado's brow perked. That wasn't _very _difficult, if you'd been taught to do the magic properly. But he knew Seth hadn't. "Go for it." he replied, waving a hand around in the air. He twirled his quill around in the air. He was very hungry, he just didn't feel like going. Just as he was about to put the quill to papyrus again, there was a deafening crash, forcing him to seal his eyes shut and cover his head with his arms instinctively. His magical reaction was only just in time and a telekinetic shield surrounded him. Splinters of wood flew in all directions like a disorganised rain shower, bouncing off the shield and falling to the floor below with a thud. As soon as the noise stopped and Mahado dared look, he lowered his arms and his shield and peered through the dust. There, in the doorway, stood a smirking Seth, his hands on his hips.

"Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeth!!" Mahado yelled, "_What the Hell do you think you're doing_??"

"I opened the door, I couldn't do the whole telekinetically turning the key thing."

Mahado looked down to the floor, where he saw the part of the wall which had been used as the lock slot had also been blown away.

"Do I have your attention?" asked Seth, walking into the study.

"It is too much to ask? To be just left alone?" Mahado said dully, sitting down in his chair again. He took a brief glance at all the damage, and focussed his will. All the little shards and pieces of wood began to lift up, off the floor and other surfaces. Then, with little warning, they shot towards the gap where the door had been, each one seemingly knowing the exact place it had come from. They seemed to align themselves up, before there was a bright light between all the cracks, which faded as the light did.

Seth blinked and inspected the door, which was as good as new. "You have an incredible gift." he said quietly.

Mahado tried once more to concentrate on the papyrus in front of him. He didn't want Seth to be right, but it was true. How many people in the world could say they had magical powers? He didn't want reminding everyone of it. Underneath, he was surprised at Seth. It was more difficult to turn the key than to blow the door down skill wise, but required less power. So how Seth had ever conjured up enough, he didn't know. He jerked his head towards the door. "You've more of a talent for it than you realise." he said, starting to write again, "But did you have to blow down my door?"

"Since when have you not opened your door anyway?" Seth said.

"I said, I just want some piece and quiet to do this." Mahado said. Seth walked around and leaned over his shoulder to read the text.

"Hm." he nodded to himself, "See, you don't do stock-checks. Why don't you want supper?"

"I'm not hungry." he said. Just then, so typically, his stomach let out a massive groan.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"

Mahado slammed his fist on the desk. "Shit..." he murmured.

"Mahado, listen, you don't have to be frightened." said Seth.

Mahado looked up. "You mean to tell me you've been learning mind-reading too?"

"I don't need to read your mind to know that."

Mahado's lips tightened. "Well..." he said, "You were right. I'm terrified. Of everything. Of getting married, of being a father, everything."

"You're afraid of how your life is progressing uncontrollably." said Seth.

"I can deal with marriage, commitment..." he waved his hand casually, "That doesn't bother me so much. But, a child?"

"Everyone feels that way."

"I feel too young."

"You could keep putting it off. Every person who finds out they're going to have a child thinks of some reason why it might not be a good idea. Simply because they're nervous." said Seth. it was less emotional than it was supposed to sound.

"I don't even know if I'm good with children!!" he said, clasping his forehead, "The last time I was around childen Seth was when I was one!! And that was a long time ago!!"

"Mahado." said Seth frankly, his face straighter than a titanium rod, "Mana is your apprentice. _Mana_!! She's more childish than all of the students half her age put together _and_ hyper on sugar."

Mahado tried to stop himself chuckling. "She's not that bad.

Seth's eyes widened. "Mahado she blew up a flower-pot whilst aiming _180 degrees in the opposite direction_!!"

"She's learning!" Mahado protested.

"Do you listen to yourself when you speak, or do you find you drift in and out?"


	15. SOD OFF KARIM!

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: I know I know I know I am very sorry for not updating!! This is only a filling-in chapter, I wasn't sure where I wanted the story to go. And now I have an idea. So it's all good. Please leave some reviews!! They make cranky writers happy!! **_**(eye twitches)**_

**PAGEBREAK**

_**(A week later...)**_

"LOOK AT THIS!!"

Mahado, without so much as raising his head, raised an eyebrow. The Palace's Academy had broken up for the hottest three moontides of the year, and all of the students had returned home, some to the far corners of Egypt, some simply to the end of the nearest street. The Academy's Houses, Ankhesenpaaten-ta-sherit, Neferkheperuhersekheper, Meryetamun, Setymerenptah, Ankhnesmery-Re, Peftjauabastet, Fent-Ankhet, Tasetmerydjehuty, and Anitsachon, were all empty, the dormitories and chambers cleared out, and the Housemaster or Housemistress' office was locked shut for the hotter months. Vacated. That meant several things for Mahado: the marking of exams, the not having to be organsing other people and/or students, the peace and quiet, and of course, the slightly later mornings during which he could lie in a little, his arms around Isis. He liked to lie there with his hand over her abdomen, a little smile crept onto his face whenever he felt the baby move. Despite his fears, this unbreakable bond he felt tying the three of the together overcame any sense of doubt. They had pondered for ages - girl or boy? It was traditional to want a boy, but Mahado couldn't care less. as long as his child was healthy and happy, nothing else mattered. It was for this simple reason, that Mahado was not even fased by Isis' words.

"Good morning sunshine."

Isis gave a massive sigh, roughly yanking a strand of hair into her headdress and plonked a load of pieces of broken wood down in a pile in the corner. Mahado heard them clatter, and suddenly knew what she was on about. But he didn't dare speak yet. She folded her arms and rested them on her bump. "DID _YOU _TEACH HIM THIS??"

"What?"

"THAT!!"

"Oh! ... He got you too?" Mahado glanced at the splinters of wood, and then back to his work as he turned a page. "Nope. He's been in a foul mood though since Shimun had Akunadin's study cleared out and then dumped all the contents on him. I wouldn't bother mending it for a few days," he said, gesturing to the broken door, "He'll just blow it down again."

"Well if you didn't..."

"Why on Earth would I teach Seth to use Magic? It would be like teaching a madman to use a machine gun."

Isis narrowed her eyes. "Machine guns won't be around for a couple of millennia, but I see your point."

"And more importantly, I don't understand why he suddenly wants to start learning now."

Isis looked devious. "I do."

"Why?"

"To annoy the Hell out of us, that's why."

"I don't know." said Mahado, "He doesn't need Magic to do that, because, let's face it, he's got it off to a fine art." he paused as she nodded, "I think he's been doing some soul-searching."

"I bloody well hope not otherwise we'll never get him back!" she waved her finger in the air while he wrinkled his brow in confusion, "And I'm not joking with the size of his ego he could be gone a _long_ time."

Mahado jerked his head towards Isis' broken door. "Well," he said, "As long as he doesn't break any more doors, I don't mind. There's only one thing that worries me."

"And that is?"

"That he's actually good at it." Mahado's face was serious, "So far he's been teaching himself... I know." he answered as she widened her eyes, "But he can only teach himself so much. I know he's had proper instruction in the past... Yes." he replied again as she raised a brow, "And he doesn't know that I know by the way. But he does need instruction."

"Is he dangerous?"

"On a serious note? Potentially."

"Should we be worried?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I hope not." she said, looking down at her bump, "I hope not."

There was a crash from outside, making both of their heads snap up. One "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!! ... I, I really am...". Mahado heaved himself out of him chair and they made their way to the door, from where they could see one rather unfortunate servant, who was covered practically from head to toe with broken eggs. Also at the scene was one Mana, also almost completely covered with egg.

"I am so so so sorry, here, I'll fix it!!" she said, whipping her wand out of the air. The sevant looked somewhat frightened. "Alright," she said, twirling the wand as a little golden light appeared on the end and drew lines in the air, "Abraxis ktèrayi!!"

In a split second, and also a bright flash of orange light, the smashed eggs seemed to peel themselves off the servant, off the floor, and almost in a slow-motion rewind, seemed to piece themselves back together again, bit by bit, the contents flowing back into place like water and orange juice flowing uphill. Mana held her wand out at a right angle to the rest of her, and bit her lip, her eyes wrinkled in concentration. Mahado and Isis watched in awe - Mahado more so than Isis - as Mana reassembled the eggs in mid-air. Her expression began to get more and more strained and Mahado's lilac eyes suddenly looked in slight fear at the eggs, which were now floating about six feet in the air. He blinked and closed his eyes, readying his own power.

He knew exactly what was going to happen.

Mana made a strained, strangled noise, gripping the wand so tightly that her knuckles were turning white and her arm was shaking. Mahado only had to count down the seconds. She let out a painful groan, before falling to her knees and clutching her temples. Isis gasped and covered her mouth as the delicate eggs began to fall to the ground again.

Mahado's eyes shot open, and in his mind, he whispered. _"Ktèratj anêt!!" _

It was like Mahado was a strict school teacher and the eggs were naughty school children who had slung one shot too many. It was strange, his eye-contact never faltered, but he wasn't staring, in fact he seemed quite relaxed. Most sorcerers had to use hand gestures to make their spells work. Mahado was so powerful, that he could control things with his mind alone. He had known, since he was younger than Mana, that hand-gestures relieved the pressure on the mind, and had always, if he could help it, never used hand-gestures. The same even applied to spell words and incantations. However now he found he did not need to. Not even for the most difficult of Magic. He could silently and motionlessly do wonders that had not been known to Egypt before. And now, as he almost cheekily threw this light gaze at the eggs, they stopped. They just simply stopped. Like Mana had done before, but Mahado was giving far less effort. The eggs then arranged themselves again, so that they were in sets containing a dozen each. The box, which the servant had been carrying and, since being run into by Mana, had been lying on it's side on the ground, turned itself over and hovered in mid-air too. Mahado lowered his eyes slightly. The sets of eggs lowered themselves neatly and carefully back into their respective places, not even making a single sound as their smooth surfaces made contact with the wood of the crate.

Not until the last set of eggs was returned perfectly to the box, did Mahado's concentration yield. Mana stared with big, round, inspired eyes and her mouth gradually curved into a smile. "THAT WAS AMAZING!!" she squealed, clapping her hands together with glee, almost knocking the poor servant out with her staff, "You _have _to teach me to do that!! Please??"

Mahado smiled. "Of course." he said, "You started out well. You just need to practice and build up stamina."

"I will I promise!!" the girl yelled, practically bounding up and down on the spot.

"But if I may have one, small, criticism, it would be that..." he stopped as he saw her lit-up face disintergrate and drop like a stone in the sea, "Mana, you and I will have a little talk later after our lesson."

This seemed to give her little encouragement, but she forced herself to nod and bit her lip. "Alright, I'll see you later then." she said, the life completely gone out of her normally sparkling voice. She turned and went, ducking behind the nearest pillar and disappearing from sight.

Mahado sighed. "Poor Mana." he said, "She tries so, so hard but..."

"Morning."

The two looked to their right. "Good morning Kisara." Isis greeted warmly.

Kisara, fresh-faced, smiling, and looking incredibly beautiful, stopped walking as she reached the young couple. "You haven't seen the scrolls for the architectural plans have you?" she asked, as she walked past them gracefully and started to search amongst the pile.

"Ah, here." said Isis, picking a few from the middle of the pile and handing them to Kisara.

"Thank you."

Isis put her hand on his shoulder. "She is young yet." she reassured.

"Not that young." he replied, "I love Mana like my little sister, but being her teacher means I see her from two completely different perspectives. Some people do not recognise their children to be educationally troubled, and some teachers do not recognise their pupils to be adolescently troubled. Yet here I am, seeing both."

"Kisara," Mahado began, "What do you think of Mana?"

Kisara made a small shrugging motion. "I don't know her well enough to comment, I'm afraid." she replied, "She is definately quite a character. Why?"

"That's precisely the point." he said.

"Do you think she's troubled?" Isis asked.

Mahado made a 'hm' sound which indicated neither yes or no. "Not to the extent at which she is aware." he said, "I see such great potential in her. But what I find so concerning is how strong she is now, but unable to control it. You know, but people come into their Magic when they are mentally mature enough to deal with it. And to be perfectly frank..." he said, "She isn't. She is the right age for it, but she is just so childish I don't know what to do with her. She's always been like it and I was starting to wonder if there is an underlying problem."

Isis raised an eyebrow. Such thoughts as there were seldom expressed by Mahado. "Children come into their own in their own time." she said soothingly.

He pointed at her casually. "That is precisely my opinion. Or at least it would be, if I didn't have this family-like connection with her. Because from that perspective..." he said, "I really do see a child that in their head just hasn't grown up. And normally with students like that, I would give them a clip around the ear and tell them to bloody well act their age, but with her, I know her so well that I know she isn't trying to mess around - it's just the way she is."

"We can't do anything." she said kindly, "What could we do?"

"I'm going to start to give her responsibilites." he replied, "No really, I think it is the best thing. It means she can come into her own a bit. I'm going to wean her off "spoonfeeding-teaching" and get her to work more like one of the Final Year students. I know she isn't yet, but it will just help her hold her own."

"Good idea."

"She may be like that for a reason." said Kisara, chipping in after much listening, "I mean, I know what you mean," she took a scroll, unrolled it a little to read the title, and then placed it into the first of the three piles she had been assorting, "It is just her, and, from what I do know of her I don't see anything psychological about it. Have you tried talking to her?"

"I've offered." said Mahado, flipping a quill around in his fingers half-heartedly, "She never takes me up on it."

"I haven't tried, but I barely know the girl." said Isis.

"I can, if you want me to." Kisara answered, brushing a pale strand of hair out of her face.

"You said..."

"I know, and I don't necessarily need to know her very well. It's sometimes easier to talk to someone you barely know." she said, "When is she going home for the holidays? She could be just homesick."

Mahado looked a little crestfallen at that remark. Kisara spotted this immediately, and her expression of intelligent inquiry instantly changed to one of a person who had just realised they had done something wrong. "Oh." she said, unsure quite what to say.

Mahado spoke up, deciding it would be better for him to tell her outright than for her to poke around in the dark for an answer. "Mana does not go home." he explained, "Her parents were aristocracy and very good friends of the Royal Family many years ago." he paused for an unecessary breath, "Sadly however," he continued, "They were both killed when she was eight years old. Bandits..." The words seemed to be sticking in Mahado's throat. He had seldom told this story to anyone, but when he had, he had not felt so moved - when he had told it before, he had not about to have been a father himself. And now the thought of a child losing their parents and having to grow up alone and fend for themselves made him feel physically sick, "Bandits from Kul Elna who wanted whatever riches they possessed. Their throats slit. They had left Mana playing with Prince Atem and Prince Seth for the day..."

Kisara gave a nod. So Seth had spent a little time growing up as a prince after all, if only a little. She could see the discomfort on Mahado's face and Isis' hand instinctively covering her bump.

"It just so turns out that those bandits, Rê damn their souls, had helped themselves to practically everything in the house. Dirty bastards. Leaving Mana with very little. An empty house and a permanently damaged childhood." Isis nodded silently, "But the Royal Family was good to her." Mahado continued, "Mana was, and is to this day, permitted to live in the Palace. Her every need is attended to, but she was not allowed to become spoiled. She was normal, like the other students. And that brings us to the present day."

"Poor Mana." said Kisara, "How disgusting."

"Indeed. I noticed some change in her behaviour over the years." Mahado said, "It seemed that, when she was eight, that she was somewhat immune to the grief. She was a little young to understand. But as she got older, it seemed to sink in."

"Become more real."

"Yes."

"I just don't know if it is this which is affecting her now, or if it is something else, or what it is. I worry about her." he admitted.

Kisara looked to the floor in respect and in sadness briefly, before looking up again, her pale face set in a feeling yet mature and determined way. "Tell Mana," she said, "that if she ever wants company over the holidays, that I would always welcome it."

"Thank you, I shall." he said, before making a friendly hand gesture towards the scrolls in her arms, "Now I have kept you long enough I shall see you later." he said, as she reached the door.

"See you later." she replied as her frame disappeared out of sight.

"Poor girl." said Isis, "Are you alright?"

Mahado sighed. "Yes." he replied, rubbing his face with his fingers.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier about the door." she said, "It wasn't your fault and I acted as though it was."

He chuckled. "For Ra's sake Isis, you have an excuse. If I had such an excuse..." he said, eyeing her belly, "I wouldn't hesitate to shout at anyone." as he watched her giggle he couldn't prevent a smile from creeping onto his face. He watched her face as the giggling slowly subsided and she smiled at him.

Isis saw his happiness. She felt awful. Worse than she had been since her first trimester, but seeing him smile pushed all of that to the back ofher mind. Her hand shot to her bump as she felt a sharp kick. "Oof." she exclaimed, leaning on him, "This child is practicing the fighting arts already." she said, puffing slightly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, putting his arm around her.

Isis felt odd. Odd in a way she couldn't describe. She felt like a strain on her stomach had been lifted, and then like it had all been piled back on again. She suddenly became aware of a tingling sensation spread over her shoulder-blades and her face flush up. "I... I don't feel too good..." she murmered, hanging onto him with all her strength, which was not very much. Mahado supported her weight, and felt as her arm around his shoulders became weaker and weaker.

"Isis!" he managed to scoop her into his arms just in time before all her strength gave away. "Isis look at me!"

Isis looked up at him through lidded eyes. "Hm... So tired..."

Mahado's brain screamed at him. Was she alright? Was there something wrong? Was the baby okay? "I'm taking you to the Infirmary." he said, calling upon his more advanced Magic. He wasn't supposed to do this - but he didn't care. Concentrating on the Palace Infirmary, he disappeared into a small flash of light.

**PAGEBREAK**

"That was some impressive Magic, to project yourself here." said the physician cheerfully. It was the same young physician who had treated Seth. Mahado struggled to think of her name - Neferet? Was it? He didn't know. His brain was a mish-mash of thoughts and feelings. His stomach churned violently, almost enough to make him feel like he was the pregnant one.

Neferet was no fool - she could see that her attempts to cheer the mage up were about at successful as the vast majority of Mana's spells. His eyes seemed to be completely vacant - the lights were on but there was no one at home. Her eyes wandered to his hands - clutching Isis' in a gentle embrace. She smiled as he lent over and softly kissed Isis' cheek and pulled the chair closer to the bedside. What she wouldn't give for a man as loving as him. She decided to break the ice again. "Good news..." she said, "We cannot find any clinical problems."

"Then why...?"

"To be honest with you, this is not uncommon in heavily pregnant women. It can be a combination of many things, fear, stress, nausea, it weighs up. She will come around soon but we would like her to stay here overnight. Also I think it an unwise idea that she remains in full-time work." she watched on as he nodded, "Work can only cause stress and she needs to rest." she tried to read the young man's expression, but found it rendered her illiterate. She looked over the sleeping woman - she was six weeks away from being due - but normally these symptoms appeared in women who were about to give birth. To her eyes, her bump had also dropped quite considerably. To Neferet, that said looming birth, but how could it be? It was far too early. And despite these symptoms only _normally_appeared in woman close to birth, but not always. This one woman could be an anomaly. And Neferet was terrified that her young and relatively inexperienced eye was mistaken. It was more probable. She dismissed her thoughts as being incorrect and knocked herself out of her trance-like state. "Is that negotiable?"

Mahado nodded again. "Yes, it should be." he said.

"Alright."

**PAGEBREAK**

_Knock knock_

"Come in."

Hazel eyes shifted uneasily from their path. Usually, unless they did things differently in Hwt-Ka-Ptah, Iu-Amênitre expected there to be someone coming through the door, after the knock. She narrowed her eyes - these people were strange. She strongly resented being interupted from her work at all - however she was used to it in an odd kind of way. She pushed a strand of black hair out of her face and waited. Had they not heard her? "Come in!" she said, this time a little louder. Still nothing. Heaving herself out of her chair, she made her way over to her study door and opened it.

"Can I help..."

She swung the door back expecting to meet a face. Her sentance died in her mouth as the opening door revealed a corridor of nothingness. She looked around. Left. Right. Up. Down. No one. Nothing. The silence pierced her ears and taunted her. She wasn't going mad. At least not yet. "Hello?" she said, listening to her voice resound off the corridor walls. She shook her head disapprovingly, before slowly closing the door.

"Why hello my dear."

Iu-Amênitre's eyes fell closed. She exhaled silently. No. Not now. He couldn't be here. She made sure that her face wore a fairly blank and authoritative expression before she turned around. Sitting in her chair with legs up on her desk, sat a middle-aged man - if you could call him a man that is. His skin was sallow and sickly pale, his eyes the colour of blood. A black pattern which looked like it had been itched onto his skin in ink crawled up his neck and around his right eye. She knew all too well that it was no tattoo. His long black robe was dirty and unwashed.

Iu-Amênitre pursed her lips in anger. "We had no agreement." she said, her urge to lash out at him only dampened by fear. "What are you doing here?"

The man spoke, in a voice colder than ice. "Telling you your duty."

"I have no duty." she persisted, "Not to you."

The man's face turned to one of fury. "I will not see you, bastard or not, turn your back on us! I will not!! You have brought me enough shame already!!" he shouted.

"Then why not leave me!"

"Oh believe me," he spat, "Many in my position would have killed you at birth. I made that mistake. But I will not harm my name further by letting you act like a lowly human!!"

"I am a human!!"

The man saw red. A swipe of his arm saw everything on her desk fly off the side, crashing into the wall and falling to the floor. He stood up and approached her slowly. "You know what it is I want." he said, coming closer. She found her feet carrying her backwards. A surge of panic flowed thorugh her when he grabbed at her neck and held her clean up in the air. Her hands scrabbled at his fist, but it wasn't enough. She needed air. "Access to the Pharaoh."

She gasped and heaved for air as his fist tightened around her throat. "N... No..." she wheazed.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she made more feeble attempts to pry him off her. Turning his face away, he dropped her to the floor, and delivered a brutal kick to her stomach. She yelped in pain as his foot struck her abdomen, throwing her several feet across the floor. She immediately knew that she would be sick.

"Do. It." he seethed, "Or face the rath of your clan."

With that, he vanished into thin air, leaving Iu-Amênitre to throw up on the floor.

**PAGEBREAK**

Kisara knocked on the door of Seth's study very briefly, before sidling around and bending down just a little in order to open the door with her elbow. Shoving it with her shoulder, she pushed through it and kicked it shut behind her, putting the scrolls down on his desk.

"Thank you." he said, sipping a goblet of hot liquid. He had a rag in his hand to prevent the hot metal of the goblet from burning him. Kisara was slightly confused by this sight - his blue eyes seemed to be surrounded by a shape of gold - three sides made up by his headdress, the other made by the brim of the goblet. He seemed to be somewhat peering over the brim, his nose in the steam. Egypt was a hot kingdom. Very hot. Why would anyone be wanting to drink a hot drinl in the middle of the day? Yes, Seth's study was located in the coolest part of the palace, being a working environment for a very important person and all, but this was strange.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her heart pacing as he wiped his eyes tiredly, "You're not supposed to be doing full days yet, Seth."

He sighed. "I know, it's just, I'm a little tired." he said.

"Go to bed." she suggested kindly, walking around his desk and rubbed his back gently.

"I want to finish this." he said, moving some papers from under his nose and showing her a flattened out one. Kisara squinted - the font was completely alien so her - black ink scrawls which twisted and turned in a way which made no sense to her. She had studied several fonts of Egyptian writings and other languages, but none of those she had seen looked anything like this.

"What is it?" she asked, scanning it once more to be completely sure that she wasn't mistaken.

"Someone made it their priority to go through Akunadin's study." he said annoyedly, "It had to be cleared out for Iu-Amênitre anyway, that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that then they decided that everything in there should be _my_ responsibility."

"Shimun has a strange prerogative." she commented.

Seth was suddenly more awake. "How did you know it was Shimun?"

She shrugged. "Just a wild stab in the dark." she said, before breaking out into small chuckles.

He smirked through his own chuckles. Kisara might have been beautiful, but her intelligence attracted him more. "I've been through most of it, it's all just standard translation stuff. Lots of books, and notes, I've kept those, and a load of old rubbish which I've thrown out, but this was interesting. It says here," he fingered the corner of another scroll, "It came into his possession twenty odd years ago, but he never had any luck fully translating it. He started, of course, and got somewhere with it, but it's like a cryptic puzzle."

She ran her hand over the paper. "It's not papyrus." she said, biting her lip, "What is it?"

"I'm not sure." he answered.

"Why is it so interesting?"

"I'm trying to piece it together." he said, "Akunadin was a translator, but I am an elocutionist. He specialised in the written word, whereas I specialise in the spoken word. It means I can pick up small pieces of grammar and colloquial phrases more easily. It's bigger edge than it looks like." he rummaged through some of his father's notes, "Akunadin could not find any similarities between this and any other language or font." Seth said, "It was his belief, that this thing was, either from a very long way away, or not from this world at all."

Kisara's eyes narrowed. "Is that possible?"

Seth sighed and cupped his chin in his hands. "The Shadow Realm exists. I see no reason why other realms should not exist either."

"Did he make any notes on the content?"

Seth rummaged through some more papers, throwing some over his shoulder. He finally picked up one, and used a finger to trace his father's handwriting. "He seemed to think it contains research. Instructions of some kind. He thought they looked like instructions to weaken some kind of barrier. Now if I can just find...Where did I put it...?"

She shook her head slowly and smiled. He was off on a tangent again. Slowly but surely, she began to massage his shoulders and back, working out knots and sending relieving sensations down his spine. "Seth, you're tight again." she said.

At this sudden contact, Seth felt a shiver travel through him and arched his back, letting his head fall backwards. "That's good..." he moaned.

"I released all this tension the other evening. What on Earth do you do to yourself to cause yourself all this pain?" she asked, continuing to massage. She loved the way her pale hands seemed to contrast perfectly to his beautiful caramel-like skin, how his muscles became weak at her touch, how he loved for her to do this to him.

"Idunno..." he said, his words slurring.

_Knock knock..._

Seth's head snapped up and he scowled. Why now? He glared at the door. "Sod off!!"

"It's me!"

It was Karim's voice. Seth looked even more pissed off. "I don't care if you're the Pharaoh's beloved great great uncle's sainted mother!!"

On the other side of the door, Karim raised and lowered his brow in an unsurprised reaction. He was used to this, and so decided to ignore. "Have either of you seen Lady Iu-Amênitre?" he said, resting his elbow on the wall. No doubt to the fact that there were two people in there. He wasn't stupid.

"No. Why?" Seth shouted back.

"I was supposed to be taking some guards to the East Quarter to escort her to the market, apparently there might be some things there that might be of interest to her, old texts or something, anyway, she hasn't turned up yet so I was just looking."

"Haven't seen her." Seth replied, "Have you tried her study?"

"I'll look now." he said, "Sorry to interupt."

"Piss off!!"

**PAGEBREAK**

"Mahado, honestly, I cannot afford to take any time off work!"

Mahado's face was grim. "Isis, you collapsed."

"But now I feel fine!" she complained, sitting up in an infirmary bed.

"That is not the point." he pleaded, "The physicians just want to be sure that you are alright."

Isis considered this for a moment, tilting her head to the side. "Well, if they want me to be alright, they could bring me food! I suddenly have a craving for roast pork..."

"Isis..."

She lowered her head slightly. "Mahado, I understand, I do, but I hate just sitting here like a lemon while everyone else is busy."

He leant forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Don't worry." he said, "You've worked so hard up until now. You should have been given leave before."

"Mahado, you will come up and see me, won't you?"

"Of course." he said, taking a step back from the bedside so as to straighten the covers, which Isis had kicked uneven.

"_Oh_."

It had been a whisper. So quiet. It was like she had intended to say it at normal volume, but somehow couldn't. As he pulled the bedclothes straight, he smiled to himself. "Don't say that, wild horses couldn't stop me." he said cheerfully. He finished, and heaved himself from his knees and back onto his feet. As he tugged at the covers one final time, he noticed that she was holding them up tightly, and so decided to leave it. He blinked a few times. She had suddenly gone pale. Really pale. Her expression was vacant and her hands were starting to shake slightly, her knuckles white from grasping the bedcover.

"What's-the-matter-are-you-alrght?" he asked, the words tumbling from his mouth.

Her lip shook and she squirmed beneath the sheets. "No..." tears began to form at her eyes as she looked up at him, "Mahado..." she said, trying to force them back, "My water just broke."


	16. Doctor's bills, & Karim's Drawing Skills

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Hellooooooo I'm back, finally, was bored over half-term so managed to get this done lol don't kill me!!!!!!! AND REVIEW!!!!!! **

**PAGEBREAK**

_**LAST TIME...**_

_"What's-the-matter-are-you-alrght?" he asked, the words tumbling from his mouth._

_Her lip shook and she squirmed beneath the sheets. "No..." tears began to form at her eyes as she looked up at him, "Mahado..." she said, trying to force them back, "My water just broke."_

**PAGEBREAK**

"Alright, it's okay, just try to calm down." said Neferet reassuringly, taking her hand and leading her out of the bed to an airing room. She snapped her fingers briskly to some passing nurses. "Change those sheets!" she ordered, pointing to Isis' bed, "Get me some hot water, and clean towels. A dose of anaesthetic and then inform Lord Irj!!!" She was having to support most of Isis' weight, as the young woman had gone as white as a sheet. Closing the door of the airing room behind her, she immediately pulled down a fresh nightgown from a nearby shelf and gave it to the trembling High Priestess. "Here, change into this." she said kindly. Isis obeyed with trembling hands, dropping the sopping wet one to the floor.

Neferet smiled kindly. She was clearly terrified. Step by step, Isis made slow progress towards the door, where Neferet took her hand and led her back to the bed, which was now fully changed with fresh sheets. The nurses had already moved on to her next orders. A large bowl of hot water and fresh towels were at the bedside, and Lord Irj had been summoned. Isis' knees gave way as she put some of her weight onto the young physician. It was like Mahado has seen it coming well in advance, as in a flash he was at her side as she fell into his arms. He scooped her up and carried her to her bed, where he laid her down and pulled the sheets over her.

"Mahado..." she whispered, "I'm scared..."

"It's alright I'm here... I'm here..." he soothed.

"No Mahado!" she sobbed, "It is _not_ alright!!! This baby is not ready to come out for over another moontide..."

"Do not worry, my lady..." said Neferet, "Your water broke, there's no need to panic. You're going to be fine."

**PAGEBREAK**

"_Lady Iu-Amênitre_?"

Iu-Amênitre froze. Someone rapped their knuckles sharply on the door. She cursed under her breath. Sitting on the floor, infront of her own vomit, she rubbed her sore abdomen and forced herself to be silent. If the person behind her door thought there was no one in here, they would probably go away. There was a smart rapping again.

"_Hello? Is anyone in there?_"

Karim was beginning to get impatient. Where was she? He'd already looked everywhere else. As he took a breath, he thought he smelled something. Taking another, he realised that it wasn't the smell of woodworm or a dead mouse which one of the Temple Cats had left lying around, which were sometimes to be found in the Palace, but, if he wasn't mistaken, it smelled like vomit. He slowly and quietly put his hand to the door handle - he knew he shouldn't, but his gut was telling him that something was wrong. Pushing down on the door handle silently, he slowly opened the door.

Iu-Amênitre let out a breath of relief. Whoever it was was gone. Or at least, she tried to let out a sigh of relief. Her throat seemed to tighten and she wretched and coughed up some more bile onto the floor. Her arms wobbled like they were made out of jelly and she slowly lowered her to the floor. She couldn't take anymore of this. She just couldn't. She had thought that she could leave all of that behind, that when she came to work amongst the greatest sorcerers and Magi in Egypt, she thought they wouldn't dare.

"_Ra preserve us..._"

She heard a soft male voice resound off her study walls, and she forced her stiff neck to turn around, up to her right, over her shoulder. She mentally cursed. It was Karim, the man in charge of military affairs. She barely had a chance to wonder as to why he was even here in the first place, as he was kneeling by her side and trying to help her, speaking hurried words which all sounded like jibberish to her ears. After realising that the pain was causing her to go into a trance-like state, she shook her head violently and forced herself out of it, heaving herself to her feet.

"Are you alright??!!" he asked, trying in any way to help her up, only for her to shove his hands away.

"I can get up myself!" she said, dusting herself off.

As she stood up to face him - it was agony, she wanted to double over, but she made herself. She had to. She straightened herself up and smiled.

"I can only imagine wha..."

His sentance trailed into nothing. His face deteriorated again. He blinked and seemed to be staring at her chest. "_What _happened to you???!!!!" he exclaimed, continuing to stare. Just as she was about to ask him what on Earth it was he was staring at, he took a few steps forward and raised his hand to her neck. It was covered in horrible black bruising. He mentally cursed. It looked like someone had raped her! Or at least tried to. But he didn't see any blood, and no suspect. He saw the bruises again and winced - they did look nasty. Now Karim was not allowed to touch her, he couldn't physically lay a finger on her, it was against the law, but he simply traced the marring discolouring, leaving about a centimetre between her skin and his. Her hand suddenly flew up and clamped down on the marks, attempting to hide them from his sight, but failing miserably - there was far too much for her to cover.

"N...nothing!" she said trying to walk past him.

He kept blocking her path. "Iu-Amênitre _that _is not nothing!!!!!"

"It does not concern you!" she said, trying to push past him again. Her stomach was killing her and she knew that if she couldn't sit down somewhere soon she was going to be sick again.

Karim sighed. He couldn't keep body-blocking her. Reluctantly, he stepped out of her way, and she made a few shuffled steps towards the door. All he could see was a picture of pain - she was a good actress, yes, but her eyes gave it away. He saw pain in her eyes. He saw pain in the bruises on her neck. He saw pain in the way her arm was clamped over her stomach. She only got to about five steps, when it throbbed so much that she had to stop and double over. She hissed and felt her stomach writhe. Karim quickly offered her his arm to lean on, but still she was rooted to the spot as if she were glued there.

"May I?" he asked. She nodded, and put her arm around his shoulder, letting him take all her weight. He very gingerly went to put a hand on her waist, to support her, but as soon as he did so, she let out a shriek of pain. He looked at her stomach quizically, then to the vomit on the floor, and then back to her face again. Had whoever did this to her also landed a blow to her abdomen? He'd seen war, he'd seen wounded men, how they behaved. He knew how to locate weaknesses, wounds. Wounded women made only half the fuss. But it also explained the doubling over. Shaking his head, in disbelief that anyone could be so violent towards a woman, he gently slid an arm around her kness and lifted her off her feet.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Taking you to the Infirmary." he said definately, "You need help, and you need it now."

"No!" she said, wriggling out of his grasp and trying to stand straight again, but immediately having to keel over again. She felt her hair fall over her shoulders. How could this be happening? She noticed that her headdress thing was starting to slip over her eyes, so with lightening speed she yanked it off her head and threw it onto her desk.

Karim slowly edged up to her again, offering her his arm. He had to step around in order to see her face. It was hidden from his view by her thick straight black hair. As he edged around, he saw a black mark on the back of her neck. He looked closer - it was too dark to be bruising. It was lke someone had drawn a swirling pattern on her.

"What's that on the back of your neck?" he asked.

This time, she didn't try to cover it up. She didn't have the strength. She kept her face from his sight. "It's just a tattoo." she said.

Karim knew she was lying. "Peasants and townfolk have tattoos, Royal advisors do not." he said. It was true. Tatoos were never worn by the higher classes for some reason.

"This is none of your business!!!" she snapped.

"I know that!!!" he snapped back, surprised at his own response, "But if you don't let me help you you're just going to end up being sick here again. To lie here on the floor. Before your own vomit? Is that what you want? In the name of independence???!!!"

"Not independence!!!" she said, although she was pretty independent.

"Then what? Fear?"

"No!!!"

Karim sighed. "Please. I don't know what happened and I don't expect you to tell me but for Rê's sakes you're not well please let me take to the Infirmary!!!"

Iu-Amênitre sighed. If she said no, he would probably drag her up there anyway. She was fairly strong for a woman, but she didn't fancy her chances reckoning with him. "Alright." she said, holding up her hands in defeat, "Alright. Fine."

He bent down next to her slightly. "Put your arm around my neck." he instructed. She nodded, as he picked her up again.

**PAGEBREAK**

"Don't worry Isis everything is going to be fine!!!"

"Fine???!!!" Isis growled, her eyes red and puffy, "No!!! This is not 'fine', Mahado, my due date is not for another six months this baby is not ready to be born!!!"

Mahado couldn't help but look as if he was loosing his cool. Isis looked like she was about to get up off the bed and throttle him. No joke. If she could. Her hand was gripping tightly onto his, cutting off the blood supply. He didn't care. He couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything. His entire body was completely numb. Her hand tightnened around his as she tried to hold in a shriek.

Neferet looked up. "Tell me every time you have one of those." she said, referring to the contraction.

Isis scowled. "Believe me..." she said, her voice low and angry, "You'll know!!!"

**PAGEBREAK**

Seth's door slammed open.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO..."

Kisara appeared from behind it.

"Oh it's you..." he said quietly, "Well that's alright then, I think I'm going to post a sign on the door saying 'knock' in big fat hieroglyphs."

"Isis is in labour." she said, entering, but not closing the door, indicating that he had to go somewhere.

"What???" he yelled, "But she's not due for three moontides!!!!!!"

"Tell her about it."

**PAGEBREAK**

"Alright her contractions are less than sixty seconds apart." said Neferet, quickly pouring some pain-relieving tonic into a glass for Isis. She passed it to her and shouted to the apprentices. "Where is Lord Irj???!!!"

"He's on his way m'lady." one replied.

Isis shrieked and tears started to trickle down her cheeks. Neferet looked at the doorway to the Infirmary again in a very urgent manner, before calling in the students. "Hot water, towels and clamps!!! Now!!!" she yelled, before walking around to the end of the bed. "Let's see what we have here..." she said, lifting Isis' gown up to her knees. "I see a head." she said, "With dark hair."

Isis chuckled through her sobs. "Oh yes?" her voice shook, "What did you expect, a blonde?"

"Alright now concentrate on your breathing." Neferet instructed, "Breathe, breathe deeply. You're doing fine, that's it, I can see a shoulder... And another shoulder!!!"

She tensed as she heard a voice over her shoulder. "Can somebody help me?!!! I... oh." Who the Hell was that anyway? What was his name? Kalim? Karim? And who was he carrying? She pursed her lips. "I'M A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!!!" she bellowed, "Oh for Rê's sakes someone apart from me see to it!!!!"

The terrified students seemed to disappear in a cloud of smoke, and Neferet pulled a towel away from one who was left - the baby was half born now - she very gently puther hands around the baby's middle, under it's arms, and began to ease it out, tiny bit by tiny bit. "That's great, you're doing great, just one last push!" she said.

Isis screamed again. "I can't do it!!!!!!!!!!" she cried into Mahado's shoulder, "I can't do it!!!"

"You have to! A big one! A really big one!"

"I can't!!!"

"You can!!! You can!!!" Neferet pleaded.

Isis cried out again as the baby's hips slid clear, followed by legs and the umbilical cord. Neferet smiled and reached for an umbilical cord clamp. Mahado and Isis watched impatiently as she cut through the cord and reached for a towel. She started to beam as she heard the baby begin to cry, and very gently wiped the child's nose and mouth. Wrapping the tiny infant in the clean towel, she held the child up for the couple to see. "It's a little girl!" she remarked, wrapping the towel around more firmly. "Here you are Mama." she said, as Isis held her arms out eagerly.

Karim didn't think he had ever seen Mahado smile so much - he looked simply too overjoyed to speak. "_A little girl..._" he whispered, peering over Isis' shoulder onto the tiny face.

"Hello little one..." said Isis, burying her head into Mahado's chest, "Look what we did..." she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "It's a miracle... A little miracle."

"Lady Isis???" Isis looked up at the door to see Kisara and Seth appear from around the arch. Kisara brisquely walked forward and fell to her knees at the side of the bed, "A boy or a girl?"

"A girl." Isis replied, cradling her softly. She looked at her colleague/sometimes-friend-ish. "You look happy Seth."

"Believe me Isis, the thought of you in sheer agony was just too appealing."

Everyone glared at him. Then he did something Seths hardly ever do. He smiled. "Congratulations." he said, "And blessèd be."

**PAGEBREAK**

_Seven days later..._

"How are you?"

Iu-Amênitre's eyes opened in a snap, immediately aware of the smell of crisp bedsheets and purging inscence. Damn, Still in the Infirmary. Everytime she closed her eyes, she hoped that she would wake up somewhere else. She hadn't been able to sleep all week, everything felt like a blur. Even the voice which was now softly speaking to her. She shoved her hand into her pillow and heaved herself over to face her visitor. Large evergreen eyes met hers in a somewhat curious look.

"Karim?" she murmured. He hadn't been to see her all week. In fact, why was he even coming to see her at all? She only vaguely knew him. She supposed that the Sacred Guardians were a family, so he was being polite or something. As she sat up, she was very careful to let her hair fall and cover the back of her neck.

"Are you feeling alright?" he enquired, raising an eyebrow.

She rubbed her eyes. "I've been better." she said.

"I've wanted to talk to you but I wanted to wait until you felt significantly better." he said, pulling up a chair and sitting at her bedside. He casually pulled his cloak out from beneath him and swung one leg over the other.

"What about?"

"About what happened to you." he said.

"I slipped." she said, "I spilled some ink on the floor, slipped, and went flying into my desk, hitting my stomach."

His eye-contact never wavered. "I mean what really happened to you." he said.

"Are you saying I'm a liar?" she questioned.

"You must think I was born yesterday." he said, "There was nothing on the floor except your own vomit, caused, I suspect by the blow to your stomach. I have seen wounded men, my lady, I never thought I would see anything like that. And I beg your pardon but I must call you a liar." Iu-Amenitrê remained silent. "I asked the physicians." he continued, "They said the bruising on your abdomen was circular, if you had fallen onto your desk it would have made a definite line. And falling on your desk certainly does not cause you to develop bruising on your neck."

Still, she remained silent., playing with a lock of her hair. He looked at her in an almost desperate manner. She lowered her gaze to her stomach, and then back to his again. "Karim." she began weakly, "I can't."

"Iu-Amenitrê, I want to help you, we all want to help you." he said, "I can put whoever did this to you to justice."

"You can't." she whispered.

"And why not?"

"Because nobody can!!!!!" she replied, her eyes lighting up like fire. "Nobody can."

**PAGEBREAK**

_Knock knock knock..._

Seth scowled. "What?" _"At least they're knocking now though." _he thought to himself.

"It's me!" came a voice from the other side. Seth frowned.

"Sod off!!!!"

"It's important."

"So is criminal persecution, hang on, er, no. That's your job Karim!!!"

Karim bit his lip. "Open the door Seth."

"Fine!"

Karim heard a lock turn, and the door swung open, revealing Seth sitting at his desk, drowning in scrolls. He looked around - his first guess would have been that Kisara was in here - apparently not. "So not all _that _inconvenient." he commented.

"What do you want?" Seth asked, not looking up from his work - he was inspecting that work of Akunadin's again. "Is this about Iu-Amenitrê?"

"Yes." he replied, taking a piece of papyrus out of his sash and unfolding it, "You lived in the city for a while didn't you?"

Seth looked up. "All of eight years." he replied, "Why?"

"How much do you know about tattoos?"

"How much do you want to know?"

Karim passed Seth the piece of papyrus. He studied it carefully for a second. "It's not like anything I've ever seen before..." he said, "Very fake though, whatever it is..."

"Yes that's because I drew it." Karim admitted.

Seth raised a brow, "You drew it?" he asked. Karim nodded, "Well that would explain it then. So, pray tell Karim what is it supposed to be?" he enquired, turning the page upside-down and to the side.

"It's not supposed to be a work of art you know I can't draw!!!" Karim complained.

"So in fact you've asked me to identify something, which you have seen, and then drawn, when the depiction in no way, at all, ressembles whatever it is." he said sarcastically.

"It's not a work of art, but it is fairly accurate."

Seth remembered the last time he insulted Karim's intelligence. "Photographic memory to the end eh?"

"You're starting to sound like Isis you know, she's the one who comes up with all these futuristic words."

Seth glared up at him. "Take it back." he said, his voice magically lowered five octaves, "Take it back or no answer!!!"

Karim shrugged. "Fine I take it back now what the Hell is it?"

"Well it's not Egyptian, or Greçian, or Roman, or Hispanic, or... anything I've ever seen actually." Whilst taking a good look at it, the papyrus slipped out of Seth's fingers and onto all his other stuff. He sighed and went to pick it up, when something seemed to phase him.

"Seth?" said Karim.

Seth's fingers pushed the drawing over Akunadin's mystery scroll, his eyes comparing and studying. "Karim look at this..." he said.

"What?"

Seth gestured for him to look. "See, the markings look the same as the one's around the edge of the scroll." he said, "Which means, that either your drawing skills are worse than we all thought, or, they are connected."

"So?"

"This makes things very complicated." he said, "Akunadin thought this was from another Realm." Seth blinked, "So what has this got to do with tattoos?"

Karim's brow creased. "When I found Iu-Amenitrê the day Isis gave birth, I saw that pattern on the back of her neck."

Seth's mouth formed a little 'o'. "Oh."


	17. Can you see my vision? No seriously!

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Alright. I am kinda ashamed to say that in the last few chapters I seemed to have turned Seth into a comic-relief character - sorry guys, but Seth can come out with some funny stuff sometimes. And I'm really sorry I just realised I've been spelling "Iu-Amênitre" wrong - the e with the accent should go on the first e. Anyway... REVIEW!!!**

**Oh, and I know this chapter was us very quickly, I am on half-term right now. Normally I won't be able to update so quickly :( **

**PAGEBREAK**

_**LAST TIME...**_

_"This makes things very complicated." he said, "Akunadin thought this was from another Realm." Seth blinked, "So what has this got to do with tattoos?"_

_Karim's brow creased. "When I found Iu-Amenitrê the day Isis gave birth, I saw that pattern on the back of her neck."_

_Seth's mouth formed a little 'o'. "Oh."_

**PAGEBREAK**

Kisara twitched. She could feel light beaming onto her eyelids. No... Surely it couldn't be morning already! She tried to ignore the light - she had to remind Seth to close the drapes properly - it was shining in like a little laser onto the sleeping couple. She turned her head away into Seth, resting her chin on his collarbone, listening to his heart beat softly in his chest. Now that she thought about it a little, she was quite glad she had woken. Passionate nights with Seth made her tired, and normally by the time she had woken he had already gone. It made her happy simply to lie with him. She looked at the hand which was over his heart, and was almost blinded by the paleness of her own skin against Seth's, which was warm and tanned. Kisara had no idea where she was from, or how she even managed to come to Egypt in the first place. People gave her strange looks from day one. She had considered herself to be ugly up until one day in Seth's study, when they had been kissing fervently, she had asked him how on Earth he found her attractive. She remembered feeling him smile against her lips. "_Why do you think I wear blue?_" he had asked her, looking her in the eye.

"_Because you like it?_" she had answered.

"_That too._" he chuckled, "_Look at my eyes._" he said. He had been right. Egyptians did not have blue eyes like that. Isis had blue eyes, but hers were much darker. His were a cobalt blue. "_It tones them down._" he explained. She had noticed too that his hair was auburn - Mahado's hair was brown, but, again, it was darker. That was when she had realised. He was different too. But not in a bad way. She then realised that that was the way on which he thought if her. Different, yet appealing, attractive. She was knocked out of her thoughts for a minute as he gave a little groan.

"_Good morning_." she whispered. No answer. "_Are you awake_?"

"_No._" he replied, "_Are you?_"

"_I'm not sure._" she said. She felt his grip arounder her tighten slightly.

The door suddenly clicked. Kisara barely had time to react before Mana's head popped around the door. "Seth!!! You need to... Ooh sorry!!!"

The door slammed shut again. "Seth?" came a voice through it.

"What is it about my private space and people not knocking?" Seth murmured, his tone of voice went from pissed to murderous. "You have ten seconds to explain yourself and make it good." he growled at Mana.

Mana stood shaking outside the door. "The Romans arrived early and of course they speak Latin and we don't and so we can't understand what they are saying!!!!" she said.

"Get Isis!" he shouted back.

"I did, she has to feed Aishê, she told me to get you!"

"Damn her and her maternity leave." Seth said to himself. "Fine I'll be down in a minute!" he listened for her retreating footsteps, and kissed Kisara softly, "Sorry," he murmured.

"It's not your fault." she said, heaving herself up and then grabbing his arm in an attempt to pull him up. "Come on!!! Gods Seth, move!!! ... Do you want Mana to come back?"

"Hell no!!!" he said, swinging himself out of bed and reaching for his clothes,

Kisara grinned. "I thought not."

**PAGEBREAK**

Mahado didn't know when 'morning' was anymore. Or 'day', 'night' or 'evening'. Existance simply consisted of time. Time when he would try to catch up on extra sleep and then be woken by a cry. Isis and he had decided that they would take it in turns. One night Mahado would get up, the next Isis would, and so on and so forth. However, Isis was lucky in the fact that she was on full maternity leave. She did not have to get up early in the morning or go to work. The problem was, that all her work was being delagated to the others, and they were all feeling the strain. Mahado in particular. He got very little in the form of paternity leave - which was very unfair, in his opinion. Despite working almost full-time, he would still have to get up every other night to hush his daughter back to sleep. To tell the truth, he loved getting up to see to her. There was something really magical about sitting on the windowsill in the middle of the night, holding his little girl in his arms. His heart pounded when she would curl her tiny hand around his finger and grip it tightly. He had realised how much more mature he had become in the past few moontides. Just how much she meant to him. They had decided to call her Aishê, and now the name swum around in his head like a goldfish in it's bowl. Seth had said before she was born that Mahado was going to be the most protective father in the history of the universe, and it would be a miracle if he didn't place his child in a tower surrounded by thorns and guarded by a dragon. He chuckled to himself. the sun shone through the long curtains straight into his eyes. As if there could be any subtler sign. Aishê was sleeping peacefully in her cot, as he pulled himself out of bed and began to dress, briefly using his powers to close the gap in the curtains, leaving the room immediately darker again.

"Good morning."

Mahado pulled his tunic over his head and looked around. "Good morning." he said, leaning over and kissing Isis gently, "How are you?"

"Sleepy." she replied, "You?"

"Sleepy."

Mahado's chambers were massive - being one of the Pharaoh's six Sacred Guardians, he was in one of the biggest rooms in the Palace. Each of the Guardians had rooms which were like big apartments. One room for an extra study, and also a kitchen area. The one thing that Mahado didn't like was the provision of an extra study. A smaller one where the most important documents were sent for him to deal with first thing in the morning. Isis leaned over slightly to get a better glimpse into his study.

"Looks like one Hell of an intray." she said, eyeing the urgent messages for today.

Mahado dragged his feet over and started to sift through the messages, when one in particular caught his eye. "This one has Karim's handwriting on it..." he said, picking up a small kinfe from the table and going back through, sitting down on the bed.

"What is it?" Isis asked, lying back on the pillows.

Mahado broke the wax seal on the folded piece of papyrus and unfolded it. "It's a request for a Truth-reading." he said, "Of all male staff."

"Why does he want that?"

Mahado read on. A Truth-reading was when a magician such as himself used telepathy to read the minds of suspects in trials and other criminal proceedings. "He wants to know what happened to Iu-Amênitre." he replied, eyes still scanning the hieroglyphs, "I expected this sooner or later."

"Why doesn't he leave the poor woman alone?" she asked, "If something like that had happened to me I wouldn't be too keen to share with someone I barely knew."

"To be honest I would request this if I knew more about the situation. It's his job, technically, and I know she hasn't wanted to talk to him. I want to know equally, I think it is important this doesn't happen to anyone else."

"You're right." said Isis, "But that's going to take a Hell of a long time."

"I can delegate." he said, "I'll truth-read some of the other magi first, if they're clear, they can help me do the rest. We'll get through it in a few hours if we're quick."

"How is Seth coming along?"

Mahado paused. "To tell you the truth I don't really know. He seems to be teaching himself very well, I learn new things about him every day."

Isis paused. She had just had an idea. Her Millennium Necklace glistened, as if it were in on the plan. "Can he truth-read?"

"He probably has the ability yes, whether he can control it or not is quite another matter."

"As long as he hasn't blown my door to smithereens again I don't mind." she said, masking her 'cunning-plan' face, "I just had Mana go and wake him up for the Roman ambassadors - so he won't be in the best of moods this morning."

Mahado smiled. "Isis, the day Seth is on a good mood is the day it starts snowing."

"Don't tempt fate."

**PAGEBREAK**

_**A LITTLE LATER...**_

Isis lay propped up on her pillows, little Aishê in her arms, listening for the sound of footsteps. She smiled to herself as she heard them, and then a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called.

Kisara appeared from behind the door, having just come from a lesson. "Lady Isis?" she asked, "You sent for me?"

Isis smiled. "Yes yes, come in please, have a seat." she said, patting the side of the bed. Kisara walked over and sat down, smiling at the sleeping Aishê. "Aishê's decided she wants to be nocturnal." Isis joked.

Kisara laughed. "She looks very like you."

"She has her father's eyes..." Isis lamented, cuddling her.

"You said you had a message for me to take, Lady Isis?"

"Please, just call me Isis, the 'lady' bit is such a mouthful. And yes I did. Now, I have something for you to ask Seth, it's not urgent at all, you just need to tell him that I need him to go and see Iu-Amênitre before tomorrow. I have been meaning to go and see her but I've somehow developed a fear of the Infirmary."

"I don't blame you."

"I want you to tell him that I think she's lying." said Isis, "But that's irrelevent, that can wait until I'm back, but I need him to go and check with her what should be done about delegating her work until she is fit to work again."

"Right." said Kisara, nodding to herself.

"Oh and also can you get him to ask her what it was she was doing when she was hurt? They need to know down in the Treasury because whatever is was probably needs to be finished, and if there was something, can you tell him to have it sent up here so I can complete it and sign it?"

"Of course." she said, "What is going to happen?" she asked.

Isis wore a very straight face. Kisara was no fool. "I don't know." she said, "I was talking to Mahado earlier saying they should probably leave the poor woman alone. She certainly won't talk to any of us. But if it is someone on the male staff, which is likely because it happened in her study, we cannot risk something like that happening again."

"Karim thinks she's hiding something." said Kisara, "I spoke to him the other day. He explained that he could catch whoever did it, and apparently she said that nobody could."

Isis shook her head to herself. "Seth told you about Karim's drawing, I presume." the younger woman nodded, "It just doesn't make sense. Of course it could also be coincidence."

"Would she talk to Neferet?" Kisara suggested, "Patients will sometimes open up to their physicians."

"If Neferet is in charge of treating her, which is unlikely because there have got to be twenty odd physcians up there, and if Neferet can get a word in sideways, Irj treats the poor girl as if she were his dogsbody."

"That's what I don't like about Medicine." said Kisara.

Isis nodded, "Ah yes, they were very impressed by you when Seth was ill." she said, "Some rumour going around about you having some kind of healing touch, they wanted to train you straight away."

Kisara giggled. "It's amazing what people will dream up."

"Would you take up that offer?"

"If such an offer truly existed, yes."

"That's keen."

Kisara sighed. "I just want to stand on my own two feet." she said, "I can't go through life riding on Seth's cloaktails. It's not fair on him and, I don't want to be the girl who is only here because of chance. Of luck. I want to be independent. Like I used to be. I love to help people, but people never wanted my help before. If I had the chance to become a physician, I would take it. But I don't think I'm clever enough for something like that."

Isis raised both brows. "Trust me, if you weren't an intelligent girl, Seth would not have been so captivated by you." she said, "He is incredibly intelligent himself, and he doesn't suffer fools gladly, that why he spends a lot of his time either angry or annoyed. He doesn't understand how anyone could be stupid. It happens, unfortunately. To give him credit, and this is the only time you will ever hear me do that: He sees more than beauty in women. You are the first girl that he has even looked at twice. For a long time he's been practically bombarded with ridiculously pretty made-up girls at parties and whathaveyou, poor boy, and you could see he was always inwardly gagging. He wanted nothing to do with them."

"Poor Seth." she said, "He's told me this... But he didn't tell you that." she said coolly.

Isis gave a knowing look. "And that is precisely what I mean."

**PAGEBREAK**

Kisara knocked gently on Seth's door. "Seth?" she said, "Are you in there?" she opened the door. Seth looked up at her and smiled.

"Hi!" he said, "I'm almost finished."

"Isis asked me to ask you to go and see Iu-Amênitre before tomorrow."

Seth's smiled somewhat disappeared. "Of _course _she did." he said sarcastically. "Typical."

"She has some things she wants you to ask her."

"What did she say?"

Kisara focused her eyes on the ceiling as she recalled. "Uh, she said that she thought Iu-Amênitre was lying, but then she said that was irrelevent and could wait until she got back."

"Well that's rich." he said, before looking to the side, "Isis never mentions anything unless it is important." he said, "I wonder..."

"She also said she wants you to find out what's to be done about delegating her work, and if there was anything started but unfinished in her study could it be sent up to Isis so she can finish and sign it."

"Is that it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yep."

"You know that Truth-Reading earlier was completely unproductive?"

"Really?"

She didn't sound surprised. Seth looked out of the window at the setting Sun. He shoved some papyrus into his sash and got up. "I'll go now. Will you come with me?"

She grinned. "Of course, and I need to talk to Neferet about something as well."

**PAGEBREAK**

The Infirmary was as clean and boring as ever, and Seth, like Isis, had rather resented coming up here since his close encounter. They made their way to the room where Iu-Amênitre lay, half asleep, half due to boredom, half due to the medicines they were giving her.

"Poor Iu-Amênitre." Kisara whispered.

Seth remembered what Karim had said about the marks on her neck, and looked on, carefully not yet disturbing her. He crumpled his brow. Karim had been right. And his drawing hadn't been to far off either. There on the back of her neck, were the same small swirling patterns that were on his mystery document. He looked to Kisara for a moment, and read her expression. Yes, she had seen it too.

"I'm just going to find Neferet." she said, "Two of us is too many."

"Fine, wait for me afterwards." he said, approaching his colleague somewhat timidly as Kisara left. "Iu-Amênitre?"

The Lector Priestess looked up from her pillow. "Seth?" she said, sitting herself up.

"How are you?" he asked, removing his pointy headdress and sitting down in the nearby chair.

"I've been better." she answered, "Why are you here? More questions? More prodding?"

"Actually I came for two reasons." he responded, his special eloquent charm pouring out of his mouth. "The first of which was to apologise for everyone, they really should have left you alone."

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, thank you, I guess..." she said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Er, I have just one or two things to sort out on the work front." he said, "Which was the second reason. Isis wanted me to ask you a few things." he leant back in his chair, "She wants to know what is to be done about delegation of your workload until you are fit to return to work." he said.

"Well, technically I'm, injured not ill so is it possible to have it sent up here?"

Seth crossed his legs. "Yes, but only limited amounts, you can't move your entire study up here. So shall we say, short term projects sent up here and easier projects delegated to scribes or scholars?"

"Yes that would be fine."

"Also Isis wanted you to know that if anything you started the day you were attacked was left unfinished can she have it so she can complete it and sign it?"

Iu-Amênitre nodded. Seth looked at here for a moment. For a person admitted because of injury she looked like one admitted for illness. Dark circles weighed down her eyes and she looked as if she somewhat out of it - like she was preconcerned with something looming. He found her strange - how could such a gentle and seemingly genuine, friendly woman want to lie to them? Isis had said it was irrelevent, and that was the very reason he found it peculiar. He knew that she knew, that all she had to do to get him to investigate something was to tell him the first part, and then tell him it was irrelevent. So what was it she wanted him to find out??? The thought was eating away at him inside - he looked back at her again. What was it she was hiding from them all?

He could just see the colour of her irises beneath her lidded eyes. Hazel. An unusual colour for an Egyptian. She creased her brow. "Are you alright?" she asked him, "Seth? Seth? Are you feeling alright?"

Seth blinked - why was she asking him if he was alright? He raised his hand to his head and sighed. He could hear the bustling of the infirmary behind him, yet it all sounded like a blur. He closed his eyes, and tried to say 'I don't feel so well', but the words just didn't come out of his mouth. Instead, he rubbed his temples and tried to concentrate as he felt his bosy become more and more numb, colder and colder. Seth didn't even think to register what was happening. He saw daytime hallucinations cross the backs of his eyelids, but they were all grey, black and white. To him, they seemed to form pictures, figures, shapes, familiar figures, familiar shapes, and black swirls...

He sddenly became aware of a hand pressed around tightly around his neck. The blur of the infirmary had long become silent, and deep from amongst that silence that filled his senses, came the sound of a blow, and a scream.

His hand shot to his throat, desperately trying to loosen the grip of whatever was holding it. He moved his head from side to side, just wanting all of it to go away, to stop.

"_Seth!_"

He could hear a voice calling his name. He knew that voice. It was Kisara's. It was close. Seth suddenly realised what had just happened. Had, he, fainted? He had collapsed before, and the main thing about fainting, was that you didn't even know you had done until you started to come around. He gave a mental sigh of relief as the feeling flooded back into his limbs, and his senses were filled with the bustling again. As the pins and needles feeling faded, he realised that he was lying on the floor - no chair could ever be this uncomfortable. He also felt a pair of arms around him. Those he also knew to be Kisara's. His eyes snapped open, where several physicians, students and other staff had gathered around to see.

"Seth are you okay? What happened?" asked Kisara worriedly, propping his upper body up.

Seth blinked again and sharply knocked himself out of his little trance. He immediately rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm fine, I'm fine." he said. When the crowd of people around him didn't seem to believe him, his face turned to one of annoyance. "Go!!!! All of you!!!!" he shouted.

Shocked out of their own trances, his little audience scarpered, leaving himself, Kisara and Iu-Amênitre. Seth blinked again, and turned to the LEctor Priestess. "Erm..." he began, "Sorry about that..."

Iu-Amênitre smiled. To ask him again if he was alright would be suicide. "Don't worry about it, not your fault." she said, "Did Isis want anything else?"

He shook his head. "No, thank you, that will be all." he said, his eyes still slightly wide, turning to go, "I think I'm going to hit my head against a wall for a while."

Kisara and Iu-Amênitre giggled. "It was nice to see you again." said Kisara, "I hope you feel better soon."

Iu-Amênitre returned the smile. "You too. Take care." she replied. Both of them burst out laughing as they heard Seth scoff. She rather quickly stopped however, laughing with a bruised diaphragm isn't recommendable.

_"Nice girl." _she thought to herself, _"A sweet couple."_

**PAGEBREAK**

"I saw her Kisara!!!" said Seth as he stormed back to his study, "I tell you!!! I saw what happened as clear as bloody day!!!!!!!"

"Seth what are you talking about?" she demanded, shutting the door behind him and gesturing with her hands for him to lower the volume a little.

"Iu-Amênitre!!!" he said, pacing up and down, "I saw... Argh I don't know what!!!!!!!"

"Seth, calm down!!!" she said, holding his arms woth both hands, "Do, do you mean when you fainted?"

A smile broke out on her face as he gave a very dismayed one. "I did _not _faint!" he said, "It was like I had some kind of vision. I just kept asking myself why she wouldn't tell us what happened and then I..." he clasped a hand over his eyes, "I saw her." he said, sitting down at his desk and pulling up a chair for her, beckoning her to sit, "I saw her in her study. There was a man there - I've never seen him before but he was familiar, familiar in a really really strange, distant way, and he... he had blood-red eyes, and those patterns too, but all over his neck and over his eye. He said, he wanted access to the Pharaoh. He kicked her and strangled her. It was like he wasn't human..." he said, trembling slightly.

Kisara drew him into a hug, and held him tightly, drawing soothing patterns on his back with her fingers. "It's alright." she said, "This will sound very random, but should I tell Isis about this?"

"Why?" he asked.

"She told me to tell you to go down there." she said, "Do you think she intended for something to happen? She knows you. But she doesn't realise that I know you too. I did wonder if she was expecting me to go back to her."

"Visions are her speciality..." he pondered, "Do you think...?"

"I don't know." she said, "But I want to find out."


	18. As oblivious as the palace chickens

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Helloooo!!! It's me!!! Sorry for the delay!!! Thank you so much for the reviews!!! **

**I have only one note here - and that is that the word "shenti" which appears when Seth is talking to Shaada, means the ancient Egyptian skirt/loin-cloth thing. I didn't make it up, but that's the word lol :) **

**PAGEBREAK**

_**LAST TIME...**_

_"I did not faint!" said Seth, "It was like I had some kind of vision. I just kept asking myself why she wouldn't tell us what happened and then I..." he clasped a hand over his eyes, "I saw her." he said, sitting down at his desk and pulling up a chair for her, beckoning her to sit, "I saw her in her study. I saw what happened as clear as bloody day!!!!!!! ... Do you think...?"_

_"I don't know." said Kisara, "But I want to find out."_

**PAGEBREAK**

"Are you alright?"

Mahado didn't answer. He simply closed the door to his chambers behind him, took a few shuffled steps forward, and collapsed on the bed, his long frame splayed out. He pulled off his headdress and threw it aside. Another day.

Isis was changing Aishê when he came in. She finished redressing her and carried her over to the bed, sitting down next to Mahado. "Awww... looks like Papa's as sleepy as you little one." she said, noticing the dark circles beneath Mahado's eyes.

Mahado looked up and forced himself to sit up. Isis passed the little girl to him, and he cradled her in his arms.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" she asked, getting up and heading for the kitchen area.

"Some water would be good, please." he said as she disappeared around the corner.

Three gentle knocks sounded off the door, drawing Mahado's attention away from his daughter for a second. "Who is it?"

"Me." said Seth's voice.

"Sod off!" Mahado replied, trying not to wake Aishê.

"Kisara and I need to have a word with Isis."

Mahado sighed. "Alright come in, but keep it quiet." he said, using his magic to open the door. It swung open to reveal Seth, who didn't look so wide awake himself, and Kisara, who seemed to be trying to think deeply about something and function normally at the same time.

"Sorry to come so late." said Seth, "We..." he was cut off by Isis returning with a glass of water for Mahado, and the cut straight to the point. "I underestimated you." he said, giving her the knowing eye, "Did you See it happening, or something?"

She gestured to some armchairs in the corner. "Have a seat."

Seth, Kisara and Isis sat down, while Mahado propped a pillow up behind him on the bed. "What exactly are you going on about?" asked Mahado.

"I suppose I owe you an apology." she said, "But we wanted to know what happened to Iu-Amênitre. And now we know."

Mahado looked confused. "Sorry, what?"

"Earlier I told Kisara to take a message to Seth, saying that I thought she was lying, but it was irrelevent, and to ask her a few things about what was going to happen to all her work. I knew that Iu-Amênitre would never talk to us. That's why I asked you if Seth could Truth-Read earlier." she told him, "I knew that, if Kisara told Seth the message, Seth would be suspicious about me mentioning that I thought she was lying. So when he went to see her, the curiosity provoked an accidental Truth-Read." Seth looked at her as if she was completely mad, "I'm so sorry Seth, I did manipulate you to a degree..." she continued, "But now at least we know what we wanted to know."

"Do we?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "I saw what happened, that doesn't mean I understood it for what it was."

Isis clutched her water tightly. "Mahado, could you ring Karim and Shaada's bells please?"

Mahado nodded, and walked over to the wall, where six lengths of rope hung. The Sacred Guardian's rooms where all on one floor, but because they were so large, thudding the wall with a broomstick wasn't the way to attract someone else's attention. If you needed to talk to someone immediately, you had to ring their bell. In each of their quarters, there was a bell. Each bell different for each Guardian. These bells where attached to a system of ropes which connected their chambers. By pulling a rope in your quarters, you could summon someone from the other side of the palace without calling a servant. Mahado pulled on the one rop firmly, and then returned to his original position on the bed, careful not to wake Aishê.

Isis continued. "You don't have to tell us what you saw if you don't want to. Maybe you shouldn't, for the sake of her confidentiality at least."

"But if that man... thing..." Seth paused, "Comes back, we can't wait around for someone else to be attacked." he said.

A knock on the door made their heads turn. "Who is it?" asked Mahado.

"Us." Mahado closed his eyes and once again willed the door to open. The latch clicked, revealing Karim and Shaada standing behind it.

"Have a seat." said Isis.

"What's the problem?" Karim asked, as he and Shaada sat themselves down.

"We can now shed some light one what happened to Iu-Amênitre." Seth began to explain.

"What?" Shaada's eyes widened.

Karim suddenly seemed more awake. "How?"

"Isis tricked me." said Seth reluctantly. The others looked at him as if he had lied to them, "She used my curiosity getting the better of me." he said, "You know what I'm like. And er... I accidentally Truth-Read her. Apparently that's what I did."

They stared. "You, accidentally, Truth-Read, her?" said Shaada very slowly.

Seth nodded. "Yep."

"How?" said Karim.

"Hell if I know, it just happened."

"He fainted and everything." Kisara added with a smile.

Seth turned to her lividly. "I did _not_."

"So you know what happened to her? ... But she doesn't know that you know what happened to her?"

"That's right." said Seth, "And I'm going to tell you, so be quiet and listen."

**PAGEBREAK**

_The next day..._

Seth screwed up another piece of papyrus and threw it over his shoulder. Once again, he was having trouble trying to decipher the mystery-text. He was making very slow progress, but it was eating away at him, and once Seth started something, Seth finished it. On pain of death. And that wasn't the only thing on his mind. The library was thought by some to be a dark and dismal place, but Seth liked it for it's piece and quiet. Except when people like Shaada talked to him in passing.

"Are you _still _working on that???" asked the older priest casually.

"Yes..." said Seth.

"Don't become too obsessed. It would be awful if it turned out to be nothing."

"But what if it is?"

"Maybe you should let Iu-Amênitre have a look at it?" he suggested, "It is up her street, her area of speciality isn't it? Old texts? If we have cottoned onto something here, she can probably shed some light on it."

"You might actually be right there." he said, "For once."

"This is no laughing matter." Shaada said matter-of-factly, "The Millennium Key doesn't like what's going on here, and neither do I."

"I have to say, I haven't quite yet got to the stage where I talk with my Item, but fine. And yes, personally, I agree with you, even if you are self-contradictory."

"This other Realm theory..." Shaada began, "Don't you think it's strange that Mahado knows nothing about it?"

"It wasn't my theory." Seth stated blankly, "It was... Akunadin's. And, despite all, that, I do trust his intelligence. He wasn't one to believe in superstitous nonsense. And yes, it is strange that Mahado is as oblivious as the palace's chickens, but so are we, as of yet."

Shaada nodded. "The way in which you compare the Court of the Pharaoh to poultry is almost laughable Seth."

Seth looked up again. "It is laughable." he said.

"What like you pouring over that text?"

"I'm supposed to be an elocutionist, it's my job."

"It's your job to be laughable?"

Seth glared comically. "Look, I don't know which language you want me to say it in, but just go away, or should I find a student who speaks fluent moron?"

Shaada held his hands up in self defence. "Alright don't get your shenti in a twist." he grinned as Seth scowled. "Have you seen Karim today?"

"Nope. Why?"

"I was going to go and see Iu-Amênitre with him."

Seth screwed his brow. "Rather tell him to go on his own and not to wear a shirt, then we'll see if she'll tell us something."

**PAGEBREAK**

"Karim? What are you doing here?" asked Iu-Amênitre as Karim's tall frame appeared at her doorway, a package wrapped in white linen firmly pressed under his arm. She looked back to his face, which seemed honest enough, but she still didn't trust him. Evergreen eyes peered back at her. Karim was what she would have called 'stereotypically Egyptian', and he wasn't how she remembered him from when she saw him last. She had once heard someone describe him as the once who was 'unrealistically brawny'. Looking very briefly, she could see he was muscular, but not any more than Mahado or Seth. She felt so embarrassed - why had he come to find her that day? She felt like a small child in the presence of a powerful adult.

He looked annoyed. "What I'm not even allowed to come and see you now?"

She caught a grip of herself. "Not when you clearly have an ulterior motive." she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you always presume that people are trying to get information out of you?" he asked, taking a seat at her bedside.

"Because I'm usually right." she said, before speedily changing the subject, "How is Seth feeling now?"

"He feels fine unfortunately." said Karim sarcastically, causing Iu-Amênitre to chuckle, "He seems to be alright. But, that is sort of what I wanted to talk to you about."

She raised her eyebrows. "Bated breath." she eyed the package, "Something tells me that's not a present for me."

Karim pulled out the package and pulled off the white linen. Iu-Amênitre's face seemed to deteriorate as the linen came off. She went a little paler, and stared at it profusely. He offered it to her, but her hands remained glued to her bedsheets. Getting the idea, he pulled it back to him and took a look at it. She seemed to be staring at it as if she were refusing to let it out of her sight.

"_Where did you get that?_"she whispered.

"It was in my father's possession."

Karim's head whipped around, and Iu-Amênitre leaned forwards a little, to see Seth, in all his royalty, entering her room. Headdress under his arm, an unreadable expression on his face. "Rash, Karim, did you really think I wouldn't notice it wasn't there?"

Karim looked down at it guiltily. He had tried to give Iu-Amênitre a chance to talk about it quietly, as opposed the interrogation she might have had from one of the others. Looking back, he thought himself a fool. Of course Seth would have noticed it's absence. But it was worth the attempt. He could feel Iu-Amênitre's eyes briefly rest on him, like she knew that.

"Forgive the intrusion." Seth continued, "As I said, I found it whilst clearing out his study, before you arrived. It has been in my study ever since."

"You don't know what that is." she said, shaking her head slowly from side to side.

"Oh and you do?" said Seth challengingly, "Enlighten us."

"You wouldn't want to know." she said, turning her face away from the other two Sacred Guardians, and closing her eyes.

"You see, that's precisely it." said Seth, "We _do _want to know what it is. Why would we not? Why would you be so secretive about it if it had nothing to do with something dangerous?"

"Seth..." said Karim, but he was interuppted again.

Seth's voice rose to a near shout. "And if it does have something to do with something which poses a danger to people here, which I'm guessing it probably does, then it is your duty as a Sacred Guardian to tell us JUST WHAT IN RA'S NAME IS GOING ON HERE!!!! AND IF YOU STILL CANNOT, THEN I SHALL RENOUNCE YOU OF YOUR POSITION ON THIS COURT!!!!"

Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and she looked at him with remorse. "_If I tell you I will lose my position on the Court anyway_!!!" she sobbed, as Karim passed her a hankerchief, "_So what does it matter_???"

Karim glared at Seth. He personally didn't agree with his colleague's interrogation tactics.

Seth continued. "If by that you mean you think that man will come back, don't. We won't let him hurt you again."

Iu-Amênitre froze. Seth suddenly realised he had said too much. "_How do you know_...?" she began, before placing her hand to her neck gingerly, "It's not that." she said, "I don't know how you know, but you are mistaken, Seth. It's me. Alright? If I tell you, I would be unwelcome on the Court."

"Why???" asked Karim, "Is this because of who you are?"

She turned her attention to him, startled. "Why do you think that?" she asked.

"The marks on the back of your neck." he said, earning a sharp glare from her, "Iu-Amênitre, we don't care who you are, or where you come from. You could be bright green and have gills for all we care!!!" he took hold her her hand gently, "The marks, I'm right in guessing their foreign aren't I? From nowhere we've ever heard of. I don't know who you really are, where you're really from, and I don't give a damn! You were chosen for this Court upon you suitability to serve and protect the Pharaoh and the kingdom. Which you have proven!"

"But..." she began.

"Never presume you will be unwelcome here." said Seth, more calmly this time.

"You don't understand."

"Help us to." said Karim quietly.

"I should never have come here." she said slowly, biting her lip and beginning to cry again.

"Why?" Seth questioned.

She looked at him through puffy eyelids. "Because I'm a monster."


	19. Seth's virgin ears

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: I know I know long time no upload I'm really sorry, it's the same old story. Reviews are much appreciated!!!!! And thank you to all the lovely people who are repeatedly reviewing - you guys keep my self-esteem afloat!**

**PAGEBREAK**

_**LAST TIME**_

_"I should never have come here." she said slowly, biting her lip and beginning to cry again._

_"Why?" Seth questioned._

_She looked at him through puffy eyelids. "Because I'm a monster."_

**PAGEBREAK**

"Iu-Amênitre, that's a little eccentic." said Seth calmly.

She turned her face away from him, slightly showing the markings on her neck, a single tear running down her cheek. "No." she answered, "Not at all."

"I'm not sure I understand..." Karim trailed.

"That text..." she began, her voice barely audiable, "You cannot read it can you?"

"No." Seth replied.

She struggled to find her words. Her life as she knew it was ending. She knew that if she did not tell them now, Seth would get one of the Magi to Truth-Read her. And then everything, everything would be known to them. And then her life would probably end anyway. "That is because that script is not found in this realm..." she choked on her own throat, eyes bleeding fresh tears.

Seth and Karim's eyes flashed toward each other. So they had been right.

She continued, her voice shaking. "As the Shadow Realm exists, so do many others. All veiled from this one. Other worlds, if you will. This text is written in the language of Ktyael, one of those realms. It is important that you understand this..." she paused, biting her lip, her grip on her bedcovers somehow tightening even more, "This Realm is the only one to habilitate humans. The others have their own inhabitants, who are not human physically, or morally."

"How... inhumane?" asked Karim.

"Some, more than others." she said, "As I said, they are all veiled off from each other. Ktyael, the realm from which this text comes, is however not veiled from the others. It was easy for individuals to pass into this realm. There is a spell which allows the veil to open. Ktyaelians had the advantage over civilisations of other realms in that they looked like humans. Almost. Their shape is human. They are highly cannibalous creatures." she explained, "Humans call them 'demons'."

**PAGEBREAK**

Neferet decided that Iu-Amênitre's pillow-plumping could probably wait. She trusted the two Guardians to be understanding, but Seth could be acerbic sometimes. She sighed, walking into the store-room and gazing out of the window. For once in her career as a physician she had nothing to do. All her patients were fine, and nothing needed doing. She began humming to herself, twidling her light blue sash in her fingers.

"Excuse me? Um... Neferet?"

Neferet turned around. "Yes?" she asked. It was the pale girl who had been there the day the High Priest had nearly died. Kisara. She appeared to be cheerful, yet she was clearly on a mission. "May I help you?" she inquired.

Kisara came a little nearer. "Is Lord Irj here?" she asked.

Neferet shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

"Where might I find him?"

"He has gone into town for the day - doing calls." she said, "I can give him a message for you if you like?"

"You might be able to tell me..." she said, "I just was curious, if I wanted to train as a physician, how do I go about it?"

"You mean apply to the Imperial Medical Academy?" she asked. Kisara nodded. "Normally students at the Imperial Academy who have come up through it, so to speak, have to pass all their tasks at the end of the year with high marks in order to go on to the Medical training, but since you have not come through the Academy, I'm not exactly sure..." she mused, "I think Lord Irj would want to test you rintelligence in some way. You can read and write I presume?"

Kisara nodded. She had it off pat now. Neferet felt a little bad, but it was a reasonable question - ninety-five percent of the Egyptian population were illiterate.

"How old are you?" Neferet asked.

"Eighteen."

"Ah." Neferet half-sighed. "That's good."

"What's it like?" she asked, "To be a physician?"

"I'm not sure yet." Neferet blinked, "I've only just begun. It feels like I haven't qualified yet. Five years in a school and then because I didn't go away from this place it still feels like I'm in school. I mean, I have a bigger room now, and that's good, I can actually sleep at night, that is when I do sleep and aren't flapping around up here."

"You mean you can't sleep even when you're supposed to?"

Neferet raised an eyebrow. "Ankhesenpaaten-ta-sherit - the girl's House for those studying Medicine or Alchemy - is, wrongly matched, if you will. The Medical students try and snatch sleep whenever they can. With the Alchemists it's another story. They do no night-work, so night-time is party-time for them. And the walls are thin. No one sleeps. Ever." she laughed.

"I have my own room..." Kisara began, "Would I be able to stay there?"

Neferet looked at her for a moment. Kisara never slept in her own room anymore. She was always curled up next to Seth. And Neferet, who despite wisely never trusting gossip, did not doubt that. "If you have your own then yes of course, Gods you're lucky! The rooms in the Palace are luxury in comparison with what they have in Ankhesenpaaten-ta-sherit."

Kisara quickly snatched a peek from around the door at Iu-Amênitre's room, seeing Seth and Karim were still inside. "What are they doing in there?" she asked.

"I'm just the on-duty dogsbody, I know nothing!" said Neferet, holding out her palms in defence. "They've been talking for ages."

**PAGEBREAK**

"These 'demons' used this realm as a source of food. But the humans began to become wary of them. Eventually, the source of food was so scarce, simply because humans were being careful, training to fight them and doing spells to ward them of, etc... and their population began to diminish. One of their survival tactics was to try and take over human kingdoms, trying to kill the royal families and the powerful people, so that they could march people to Ktyael, to their deaths. This was, as I'm sure you'll agree, a flawed plan - they weren't exactly known for their cunning, And even more flawed when they tried it - on Egypt, three-hundred years ago."

Seth and Karim's face's seemed to become yet more curious. "Go on..." Seth encouraged.

"They tried to murder the Pharaoh of that time - but it didn't work - the Pharaohs Sacred Guardians and the Egyptian army fought them, and eventually won. "

"Alright..." said Karim.

"However..." she continued, "There were many many casualties, a fair amount of deaths. The Pharaoh ordered that the veil be closed, but there was no feasable way to do that. So the Sacred Guardians cast a spell of protection. A spell which meant that should any Ktyaelian step within 1000 cubits (450 odd metres) of a royal, or a royal associate, their bodies would combust into flames. This worked well, as there was no other way to find food in the human realm anymore, Ktyaelians stopped coming here. But the Sacred Guardians were unaware that a counter-spell was being concucted. And sure enough, the same thing happened again. This time it was not quite so morbid, a smaller attack, but this time, the worst tragedy of all was the murder of the Pharaoh's youngest daughter, Pekhsemêt. The Pharaoh went mad with rage and mourning and decreed that Ktyael be invaded, that every last Ktyaelian be slaughtered and every last tablet with information on how to break the Guardians' spell be recovered and destroyed. The Kytaelians fled to further realms to hide, and that stayed were killed. And alas, they located every last tablet, and all were destroyed." she gestured to the text in Karim's hands, "Except for this one. That text, holds the key to withering the spell which has kept Pharaohs, royals and Sacred Guardians safe for three-hundred years."

Both men stared at the text, not quite able to believe their ears. "So... That's what this is?" asked Seth, "A counter-curse?"

She nodded. "It is known in Ktyael as "Toljwneqosaj" - roughly translating as "Access to the King", or Pharaoh, as it may seem..."

Seth suddenly flinched. His blood ran cold as memories of his vision resounded in his mind. _"You know what it is I want... Access to the Pharaoh."_

Iu-Amênitre appeared not to have noticed Seth's concentration flicker. "...But now the Ktyaelians, their populations so weak it's untrue, are resorting to desperate measures. They are sure that the Pharaoh could not have had every last one destroyed. I dearly hoped that they were wrong..." she eyed the text, "It is as I feared."

Seth eyed her curiously, as Karim gripped the text tightly. "But... How can you know all this???"

Iu-Amênitre pulled her hair over her other shoulder, revealing the inky black lines which trailed down the back of her neck. "For the same reason as I have these." she said, replacing her hair, "I am Ktyaelian."

**PAGEBREAK**

Mahado was in a lesson when he heard it. Sitting infront of a classroom full of students, who were silently scribbling away at their re-sits. The term had long broken up, but a few who performed badly the first time around had to re-sit, pass, and if they didn't, they wouldn't be accepted into the next year. Mahado sat with his eyes down on a piece of papyrus infront of him, occasionally looking up to confirm to himself that there was no cheating. He sighed mentally. He hated ajudicating. He drew little doodles on the paper, his thoughts on the students before him. He had helped them as best he could. Only time would tell. Silence filled the room almost eerily, and Mahado was about to look up again, when a loud noise rang through his skull.

"_MAHADO!!!!!_"

Mahado sat bolt upright, his eyes wide, his hands clutching at his head - the sound had almost shattered his skull. Looking around his classroom, none of the students seemed disturbed, and he recognised the faint echo on the voice. Preventing himself from swearing violently at the source of the voice, he collected his thoughts, and sent a message back. "_Seth? Is... that... you?_"

"_YES!!!_"

Mahado massaged his temples painfully. "_You're doing telepathy now?_"

"_YES... I..._"

"_Seth!!!_" Mahado mentally yelled, "_Turn the volume down!!!_"

"_Oh, sorry..._" he apologised over the telepathic link.

"_What is it?_" Mahado asked annoyedly. He quickly cast an eye around to check no one was watching him suspiciously. He had a habit of making faces when talking to someone telepathically and the last thing he needed was for his students to think their teacher was insane.

"_Get your arse to your books! I need to know everything we know on Ktyaelians._"

"_Seth I'm ajudicating!!!_" he complained.

"_Mahado the Academy broke up a moontide ago!!!_"

"_They're re-sitters._" he explained, "_What? Ktyaelians?_"

"_Yes, I'm just talking to Iu-Amênitre - the next time you have a spare moment could you find out everything it's quite interesting..._"

Mahado squinted. "_What's going on up there???_"

"_I'll tell you later._"

"_Seth..._"

"_Look just find out - and don't be an idiot!!!_"

Mahado was suddenly very pissed off. "_Don't make me come up there..._"

**PAGEBREAK**

"Have any of your books got pictures of Ktyaelians?" Seth asked, a little later after Mahado had freed himself of the exam room.

Mahado walked into his own study. Much like Seth's in design, the one wall was entirely made into a bookcase. However Seth presumed that Mahado's reading-list was not quite identical to his. "We'll be lucky to find anything on them at all..." he said, checking the bookcase and pulling out a few larger volumes. He dumped them into Seth's unwaiting arms. "Take a look through those." he said, as he pulled yet more down and moved over to his desk, where he let them fall with a thud.

Several hours of research followed, bringing up asolutely nothing. Mahado sighed as he slammed the last book shut. "Does that answer your question?" he asked.

Seth shook his head. "Surely we just need to destroy the tablet. And that would be all?" he asked, "I mean, if this is the last one."

Mahado grasped his chin thoughtfully. "The point is, can we destroy it?" he said, "It's a magical document, technically, most of them have protection spells of some kind that make them indestructable."

"Well, how did they destroy them three-hundred years ago?"

Mahado's eyes narrowed in thought, his lilac irises drifting towards a box in the corner.

"What's in there?" Seth asked, reading Mahado's gaze.

Without a sound, he got up and knelt in front of the chest, fiddling with the catch until it clicked. He lifted up the lid and let it lean against the wall. Seth watched him curiously as he started rummaging, occasionally throwing things out and muttering to himself. Eventually, he reached in and pulled out yet another book. "I kept all my old schoolbooks, everything I ever used, practically. For my final Alchemic practical study, I had to devise a draught which would, theoretically, kill Ketans." he said, "I did one, but I don't know if it works. It was purely based on facts from this." he said, blowing the dust off the book.

"You mean it's possible to kill them?"

"It was never tested, and Ketan's aren't Ktyaelians, they are very different, but I do remember reading..." he trailed, flicking through the ancient papyrus pages.

"Do we want to kill them?" Seth asked.

"Until we know how to destroy the tablet, we ought to have something on standby, just in case. Ah-ha!" he said, pointing to a particular set of hieroglyphs.

"Read it out..."

Mahado took a breath. "_Ktyael - translated literally as 'the last bridge', the only world to be unisolated from the human universe besides the Shadow Realm. Ktyael is resident to human-ressembling beings, Ktyaelians, which have been known in history for their roles as 'demons' amongst religious teachings, and are often depicted in ancient texts as serpants..._"

Seth raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"There's more." Mahado continued, "_Ktyaelians are of a cannibalous nature and will build themselves into a human society in order to become closer to their prey. However they are easily distinguished from humans by their blood red eyes and black marks starting from the base of the neck and finishing around the right eye. Despite not having any notable magical abilities, they are capable of inhumane strength and speed and have the ability to teleport themselves._"

"Is that it?"

"Looks like it..." said Mahado, flicking through a few more pages just to be sure, "I'm still not sure why exactly it is you want to know all this."

Seth sighed. "Karim and I spoke to Iu-Amênitre earlier." Seth began.

Mahado looked up from his book. "You said before. How is she?"

"Getting better." he said, "She was able to tell me about the tablet."

Mahado looked a little confused. "How did she know? I mean it is her job and all that but if none of us didn't know... And Ktyaelians?"

"You see that's why I wanted to know if there were any pictures of them." he said, "Because, she is Ktyaelian."

Mahado's eyes widened. "What???" he demanded, "That's insane Seth! Even for you!"

"I'm not lying." he said calmly, "That was how she knew. Don't faint."

"I wasn't intending to!" Mahado scoffed, "But that makes no sense Seth, her eyes are not blood red, she does not have black marks on her face, she is not inhumanely strong or fast, and she certainly isn't cannibalous!"

Seth thought for a moment. Mahado was right for the most part. "Actually, she does have black marks, on the back of her neck, and no one has ever challenged her speed or strength."

Mahado paused for a little, absorbing the information. "But Seth, surely, if she is stronger and faster than a human, how could she have been injured like that? I mean, if she had the means to defend herself, why was she so badly hurt? It doesn't make sense."

Seth sat for a moment, before blinking sharply. "She was attacked by another Ktyaelian."

**PAGEBREAK**

The Six Sacred Guardians were silent.

"How was she Karim?" asked Seth, breaking the silence, as they all sat in Mahado's chambers again, somewhat nervously.

Shaada looked shocked. "I'm sorry, you waltz in here, tell us all _that_, and the ask 'how was she'???"

Isis looked murderous. "Sssh!!!!" she hushed, jerking her head towards the crib near the bed, "You wake Aishê up and I may just kill you!"

Karim ignored Shaada, and turned his head to Seth. "She was shaken up. Well done for taking your leave so early by the way." he said sarcastically.

"This changes everything." said Shaada.

"This changes nothing!!!" Karim argued. "It is like Mahado said. She doesn't show the normal characteristics."

That could be due to natural variation, as there is in the human race. How do we know she isn't a threat?"

"Isis and Karim looked disgusted at Shaada's crude remark, whereas Seth and Mahado simply looked at their laps.

Karim scoffed. "You cannot be seriously considering her to be a threat! She's been here for ages now and nothing has been any different. And the spell!!!! The spell that prevents Kytaelians from coming within range of any Sacred Guardian else they go up in smoke??? Hm??? She's been in close contact with us ever since she arrived!!! How do you explain that???"

"Too close a contact in unnecessary, Karim." sad Seth quietly, "And I am just as confused. But if she is not Ktyaelian, why would she lie?"

"She has lied to us before." said Mahado, "But only to protect herself, I think, maybe she thought that if we knew then she would lose her job or even be executed, considering what she told us about the tablet."

"And we return to the question of why was she so badly hurt when she was attacked? Inhumanely strong Ktyaelians, should be able to fight off a human easily."

"She was attacked by another Ktyaelian." Seth interupted.

"And it all comes out." said Isis tiredly.

"The man I saw..." he said, squinting slightly, "He was everything Mahado described. And I am starting to worry." Seth bit his lip for a moment. He was more confused than they knew. Only he had seen that man beat her, only he had heard his words. They resounded, around and around, making him feel sick to the core. He knew that if he revealed that to the others, she would be classed as a traitor. But he saw her try and fight him, and how he scolded her. How could such a nice woman have anything to do with overthrowing his cousin. His only remaining blood-family. He growled mentally, his fists clenched subconsciously.

"She is innocent until proven guilty." said Mahado, "Maybe, she was scared of what might happen to her if she told us. Maybe she thought the man you saw would come back."

"Anything is possible." Shaada chipped in, "But how did that man, that, thing, get near to her? She is a Sacred Guardian, he should have gone up in flames too."

"As much as I would not wish to suspect in any way shape or form, I must stress that despite as unlikely as it is, Shaada has some very valid points." said Seth, relaxing his fist a little.

"So what do we do?"

Isis' words mimicked the thoughts of everyone in the room, echoing back and forth.

"We try and destroy the tablet." said Seth, "Before it can fall into the wrong hands, and then..." he took a breath, "Ensure Iu-Amênitre's safety by any means possible."

"How do we do that?"

Seth sighed. "Well..." he said, "If one of us is within 1000 cubits of her, then the protection aborded to us via the spell should cover her as well."

"Which means that one of us has to be permanently confined to the west-wing of the palace." Mahado concluded, "We cannot make time in our schedules for that."

"if we take it turns it shouldn't be too bad, if we swap rooms, I mean, there are the unused studies for the physicians up there, if we move our studies into those, one of us is bound to be there all the time." said Karim.

"And at night?" said Shaada.

"You mean you _never _sleep in your studies?" Kairm asked cheekily. It was true, most of them worked through the night at least one night a week. he chuckled as Seth rolled his eyes, "Oh, right Seth, of course you're not an insomniac!"

"He's only started going to bed since Kisara came."

Seth glared daggers at Isis, who was trying to abstain from laughter but wasn't doing very well. "What?" he asked.

"Who says he's sleeping?" said Mahado in a hintful tone.

Seth looked murderous. "Why? Why must we always make fun of my sex-life?"

"Because it's fun!" Isis laughed.

Seth rolled his eyes again and raised an eyebrow. "Just because I'm getting some and you're all not..." he mocked.

"About time, now we can talk without worrying about your virgin ears." Mahado teased. Seth grabbed the nearest cushion and threw it as hard as he could at Mahado.

Shaada looked less than impressed. "Can we stay on track, for one minute?" he asked, as the others settled themselves down again, "So," he said, "Who wants to tell the Pharaoh?"

**PAGEBREAK**

Iu-Amênitre buried her head beneath the covers, willing for the silence of the early night break. It was like Death, so very deathly quiet. So still. As if something were there and waiting for the right moment to pounce on her. She closed her eyes. If she allowed herself to cry anymore her tear-ducts would probably dry up completely. Hugging herself as perhaps a tiny child who was scared of the dark would, her thoughts rested entirely on her fate. What would they do? She had dared to befriend them, and now they knew she was a monster. What would they do to her? Maybe she would be killed. She was beginning to think that maybe that would not be such a bad idea, as then she could not be a burden, not in Ktyael, nor in the Living Realm. Maybe they would send her back to Ktyael. She had no desire to go back there, into the dark. She had spent a lonely and miserable childhood down there. She had lived in the human Realm before though. She was born there, but could never remember it. The only remaining part of her that signified any childhood on Earth was her fluency in their language and their behaviour.

The temperature at night fell drastically due to that lack of cloud-cover, and the air that entered through her window in the soft breeze made goosebumps form on her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

"Iu-Amênitre?"

She froze. The voice of the speaker was a little unrecognisable when dulled to nothing but a whisper. "Are you awake?" it asked her.

She pulled the bedcovers from over her head and rolled over. She mentally breathed a sigh of relief as she saw it was only Karim. "I suppose." she groaned. She wiped her eyes - he seemed tired, even though it was not very late at night, his eyes seemed bright, yet oddly burdened, and she wondered to what she owed the pleasure.

"I apologise for disturbing you." he said softly.

"It's nothing..." she said, "Is everything alright?"

"I wish." he said, taking a seat. Clearly this was going to take a while. "We've just been discussing what you told us."

Her esteem plummeted. "And?"

"We don't know." he said.

"I'm not a liar."

There was an awkward pause. Karim's unwavering evergreen eyes looked directly into hers, replacing the eerie silence that filled the Infirmary room. "I know." he said simply. "I just, I fail to see how such a normal person could be a demon. I don't understand."

"Well, it happened."

"I don't know that it did."

She glared at him profusely. "What are you saying?"

A small smile played on his lips, before raising his arm. It took her only a split second to see what he was doing, her arm responding more quickly than a bolt of lightning. In less than a second, she felt a tiny impact in the palm of her hand. She looked to her side. There, in her hand, was a small, hand-sized velvet bag, purple in colour, with a little golden draw string. Opening it, she felt beans spill out onto her hand. She could feel him watching her, and suddenly realised what he had done.

Karim didn't smile. He didn't say anything. He had thrown the beanbag well clear of her head, it could not have hit her and hurt her, but he had thrown it with such force that a normal woman could not have caught like that even if then had been wearing a baseball glove. Yes. She thought. That had been a test of her strength and speed, all in one. She replaced the beans and threw the bag back to him, sighing annoyedly. "Why?"

"You have the characteristic strength and speed of a Ktyaelian." he said, "But only half of the black markings. Your eyes are not blood red and you do not prey on humans. You are unaffected by the spell which protects Sacred Guardians from Ktyaelians..." he said, referring to her bruises, "And yet so are Ktyaelians that come near to you."

She shrugged. "And your point is?" he looked briefly to her injuries. "I was not as strong as he was."

Karim smiled. "Did you know, that humans are the only species in existance, mortal or supernatural, where the males are physically stronger than the females?" he asked.

"It varies." she said, "Natural Selection."

Karim looked as if he were about to tell her something that she probably wouldn't like. He took a breath. "Iu-Amênitre..." he trailed, seemingly looking for the right way to phrase his words. "Are you..." he suddenly inhaled sharply, his eyes darting for the side for a moment before flickering back to her, "Are you half-human?"


	20. The attack of the palace chickens

_**My Fair Dragon Lady**_

**Me: Oh my God I am so so so sorry it's been like a year... probably more... I've actually forgotten the last time I updated this but I've had severe writer's block with this fic, just don't know where it's going, suggestions are helpful. So are reviews... If I have any readers left that is lol... Oh, and I've finally worked out how to insert pagebreaks!!!!!! Took me almost five years but I found out!!!**

* * *

_**LAST TIME:**_

_"I'm not a liar." _

_Karim looked as if he were about to tell her something that she probably wouldn't like. He took a breath. "Iu-Amênitre..." he trailed, seemingly looking for the right way to phrase his words. "Are you..." he suddenly inhaled sharply, his eyes darting for the side for a moment before flickering back to her, "Are you half-human?"_

* * *

Returning to his chambers later on, Seth, threw himself down on the bed and inhaled deeply. He still wasn't getting anywhere, with anything, and all of this was giving him a headache. He pulled off his chestplate, cloak and sash, and unbuttoned his blue tunic casually, his fingers twisting into the blue fabric half-heartedly. He watched the drapes at his window flutter in the slight breeze, and suddenly felt a little alone. His thoughts flitted to Kisara - normally she was already half-asleep when he came up to bed, but this time, she wasn't. He felt a little colder. He lay back again, letting his body sink into his mattress.

He didn't know how long he lay there, staring at the ceiling. He knew he had retired slightly earlier than usual, but his head needed the rest. He would have fallen asleep there and then, if a graceful figure had not appeared from around the door calling his name.

His eyes fluttered. His ears heard familiar footsteps approaching him, and a familiar hand on the side of his face. "Seth?" Kisara whispered gently, letting her hand trail to his arm where she attempted to shake him lightly, "Seth, are you awake?"

He sighed and looked at her fondly. "I hope so..." he said.

"We have a problem." she said.

He frowned. "What?"

She grinned apologetically. "It's nothing big, but it might annoy you."

"Huh?"

"Seth, some of the chickens escaped from the coop, and for some reason decided to ransack your study."

Seth sat bolt upright. "What?"

"Come with me." she said, leading the way out of his room. She marched downstairs, picking up a torch from the wall as she went past. Allowing him to unlock the door to his study, she pushed the door open and put the torch in a holder on the wall.

Seth was too tired to be annoyed. Twenty of the pharaoh's chickens were strutting around infront of him. Some sitting in his intray, another on his chair, and the others randomly scratching at the floor looking for food.

Kisara grimaced. "Sorry..." she said, "I thought you might want to get rid of them."

"I suppose the servants are all asleep aren't they?" she nodded.

"I found one of these." she said, holding up a cage.

He sighed. "Right." he said, "Time to count our chickens."

And count their chickens they did. It wasn't as easy as Seth first thought it would be. It took several flying leaps before he managed to rugby-tackle a chicken to the floor, and then he held onto it tight as it flapped it's wings. After a few flaps, the creature relaxed in his arms, and he put it into the cage. Kisara was busy, catching them like an expert, but even she had to make a few dives now and then.

"How in Rê's name did they get in here???" Seth said, wiping his brow after catching his fifth chicken.

"Maybe it was a prank?" Kisara suggested, replacing another into the cage.

Seth prepared to make another leap, eyeing his target carefully. The chicken had it's back turned, so it shouldn't have been too difficult.

He leapt.

Kisara chuckled as he grasped the chicken, his fringe falling over his eyes. "Seth, you don't need to tackle them!!!" she laughed, holding her ribs in.

Seth looked up. "Yes, I do!!!" he said.

"You know for such an elegant man, your tackle isn't so very graceful." she said.

"Isn't it?"

"Seth, the chicken is not a seven foot bodyguard."

"I can see that!!!"

"Well don't smother the poor thing then!!!" she laughed. "You'll squash the next one you do that to!!!"

Seth was about to get to his feet with his prize-chicken in his arms, when Kisara put a hand out to the side in a gesture telling him to stop. "Don't move." she said.

Seth froze. "Huh?"

She pointed. "Seth, there's a chicken on your back."

Seth looked underwhelmed. He took a quick look over his shoulder at the bird sitting on the small of his back. "So there is." he remarked lazily, "Well then go ahead."

Kisara made silent steps towards the creature, tip-toeing between the rubble of stuff that the birds had already knocked off Seth's desk. Seth lay on the floor, unmoving, his chin cupped in his hand. As she made her way through the rubbish, she cursed slightly as her foot hit the leg of an upturned chair. She stepped over it with the other foot, and paused to observe her target. She moved forwards swiftly, unfortunately forgetting that her one foot was behind the chair.

She went flying.

The chicken flapped away unscathed, resting right on top of the desk again. Seth, who was slightly winded, swivelled onto his side, looking at Kisara, who was lying across his back.

He mock-coughed a few times. "Can't... breathe..." he wheezed fakely.

Kisara's head rose in realisation, and she kicked him hard in the chest, winding him further. "Bastard."

Referring to the chicken, Seth remarked: "Is that the last one?"

"Nope."

The banter continued. Finally, after much effort, patience, and rugby-tackling, they managed to return the chickens to the coop. Seth wiped his brow dramatically, earning himself a sigh from Kisara as they headed upstairs. To Seth's amazement, Kisara was moving as if she had never been more awake. It was almost like an aura, radiating from her and energising his steps. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs after her, turning to face him whilst taking the steps backwards. Her eyes sparkled vivaciously and her laughter flowed into the depths of his very soul. Everytime he caught up with her, she quickened her pace slightly, always seemingly dancing her way out of his arms. It was as if she were an illusion that seemed real, and when you tried to encircle it in your grasp, it wasn't there. A mirage. As the made it to the final few steps onto the landing, a small growl formed in his throat and he took a long stride, wrapping his arms around her and capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss all in one smooth motion. She giggled into his mouth as they seemed to be sent spinning in circles, before eventually she felt her back hit the wall. He pressed his hard body into her soft one urgently. Something told her that he would have her right there if she let him. And she might have let him, had the risk of being seen not been rather high. They were now only a few metres away from his rooms. Grabbing a fistful of his tunic, she slid out from beneath him and pulled him gently towards the door. It was getting really really hard to even think vaguely straight, simply allowing her thoughts to wonder to what he could, would do to her threw all sense of reason and logic out of the window. As she managed to get him to the door, his lips still locked with hers, she fumbled around with the door handle as he pushed her against the solid wood. Her sticky palm slipped on it a few times, before succeeding in turning it, whereupon both of them fell with force through the doorway. Kisara was glad that she had removed her hand in time, otherwise with his weight falling on her she might have broken her arm. Speaking of, she braced herself for his weight crashing into her, but instead it came slowly and painlessly. He had managed to catch himself, thank Rê, and continued where they left off. Kisara kicked the door shut with her foot and began tearing off Seth's remaining clothing. She very much doubted that they could make it to the bed-chamber, and then even less as Seth's hands wandered. His one arm held her waist firmly, while his other hand slid between her legs and his fingers began to work magic. She groaned into him and yanked at his trousers, pushing them down and letting him kick them off, before her hand made it's way to between his legs. Seth's sudden gasps and moans rang through her ears like music, and they knew they couldn't stop. The bed could definitely wait.

**

* * *

**

"It can wait if you'd prefer."

She shook her head. "No, no, um... I should probably look my problems in the eye." she said quietly.

He looked sympathetic, and silently got up and walked towards the store room. She could hear him, quietly cluttering in there, the sound of fire roaring, and water boiling. Did she dare tell him...? She hadn't wanted to tell anyone, But Karim was making it impossible not to. It was like she had to tell her life story just to justify herself. A few seconds later, Karim returned with two bowls of warm dark liquid.

"Here." he said, giving one to her.

She inspected it. "What is it?" she asked.

"_irj-khemetu_. Warm black wine." he said. He saw her expression. "It is not alcoholic, just soothing."

"So what kind of interrogation drugs did you put in here?"

He looked surprised. "None!!" He protested, "My mother used to make this for me when I was young. If I had nightmares or felt nervous or ill it always calmed me down."

She turned the bowl in her hands a little. "So you're sedating me into talking?" she said, before holding it to her lips and sipping in gently. She looked pleasantly surprised. "It's nice, thank you."

He paused as he saw her turn away from him. "It's true isn't it?" he said slowly, "I'm right."

She kept her head turned away from him. "My mother..." she began, "My mother is Egyptian. She still lives in Alexandria. My father, well, he is not exactly a father..."

Karim could see that she was finding this difficult. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." he said.

She shook her head and sipped from the bowl again. "I was the result of a rape." she said, earning a shocked look from Karim, "He forced himself on her, and was going to kill her, but the couple that owned the local inn managed to scare him off. They took care of her, but from then on, no man wanted to marry my tainted mother, and so she was left to bring me up alone. We were happy, I mean, I was a painful reminder of what had happened to her, and yet she still loved me as if I were a completely normal child. Anyway, I went to school, studied, all was well. Until news reached my 'father' that he had fathered a child. And that made him interested. Things like that don't happen very often..." she sighed, "Anyway, he tried to blackmail me into doing things for him that he as a demon could not, of course, I always refused. That's why I came here." she said, "I thought I could escape him. It turns out that I was wrong." she said, looking down.

Karim looked horrified. "He did this to you???" he asked, speechless.

She shrugged. "He wanted to use me to get to you. He can't come near enough to be a threat, but I can."

"And I suppose he wants the tablet?"

She nodded. "So now I am to face the wrath of my clan... Whom I have never met, surprisingly."

"But how did he even get in here in the first place?"

"They can teleport." she said casually, taking another sip from her bowl.

"Well that would explain it. Will he come back here?"

"He cannot not as long as a Guardian is within 1000 cubits of where he wants to be." she said, "Which is why the tablet has to remain near to one of you at all times." She scowled, "And being half-Ktyaelian means I'm not protected from him."

"That must be why Akunadin kept it in his study, which he so rarely went out of..."

"Where is it now?"

"Seth has it, so it's safe."

"Where is Seth?"

"I'd say asleep, if he had any sense, but of course he doesn't, so he's probably with Kisara."

"Ah yes, I know." she said, before narrowing her eyes for a moment, "They're not married are they?" she asked innocently.

Karim shook his head. "I think they will, but neither of them are fans of big ceremonies, which there would be if they did. It wouldn't surprise me if they did it in secret somewhere and told everybody afterwards."

"And Mahado and Isis?"

"Same thing really. But I have to say Mahado's pushing it now, she _is_ the mother of his child."

"So that means two weddings to attend..." she said, "Sounds elaborate."

"That Pharaoh will want to throw big celebrations, which is what they don't want. And I think Seth is happy to be able to take it more slowly. The Pharaoh does not mind, but if they had any older relatives that were still with us, he would be under immense pressure to marry her. Pharaoh Atem as of yet has no children, making Seth his only heir."

"The Pharaoh and Seth are too young to be having children." she commented, "Mahado is much older, and even he was having panic attacks."

"How do you know that?"

She shrugged. "Isis told me."

"Figures."

"Mind you, I'm getting really bored, anything's better than sitting up here."

"What, having children?"

She burst out laughing. "No! Attending weddings!"

"You could be right there."

She chuckled again. "No, to the former, definitely not!!!"

"You have no wish for children?" he asked over the rim of his bowl.

"No, I do, but my chances are highly slim."

"Why?"

"Karim, I am half-demon." she said sensibly, "No man has any wish for a demon hybrid to be the mother of their children."

"Why?" he asked again, "I find nothing repulsive about you."

"Then you are the first." she answered. She looked to the side, looking uncomfortable for a moment. "I'm..." she began, "I'm not even sure if I am fertile."

He was not at all thrown by the question and looked as if he understood. "Why ever should you not be?"

"Interspeciation." she said quietly, "A horse is intraspecially fertile, as is a donkey, but cross them..." she sighed, "and you get an infertile mule. I may not even be able to bear children."

"You are not a mule!" he consoled, almost ridiculing her, "And you cannot possibly know until you have tried."

A disbelieving smile crept over her face. "Do you mean that?"

He nodded. "I do."

She smiled shyly. "Thank you." she said, "For being so supportive." He smiled, sipping the bowl of black wine again. "So..." she continued, "What about you?"

"What about me?" he repeated, "There isn't much to tell."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Here." He said simply. "My father was a Sacred Guardian too, he lived in the Palace, so I was brought up in here."

"Did you grow up with the other guardians?"

Karim looked surprised. "Gods no. Seth did not even grow up here, despite being Pharaoh's cousin, he, Mahado and Isis were in the Academy but not until long after I had graduated. Shaada is much older than me."

"Not until long after? You make us sound like we're aging!"

"Well we are."

"It's just that those three are very young, not that we are old."

"Well at least you make it sound palatable."

She giggled and sipped from her cup again. "Is this how you spend your time at silly hours of the morning?" she asked, "Talking to hospitalised people?"

"Only this one." He said, his voice mellow, a small smile appearing over his face in the candlelight. He seemed closer than he was before, close enough to feel his body heat, almost.

She sat herself up better and leaned closer, like his face was an intricate and detailed map that her sight was not good enough to decipher. His eyes glanced down towards her chin and then back up to her own again. "May I?" he asked her.

Just as she was about to ask him 'may you what?', he pressed his lips gently to hers, drawing all the breath out of her. It was soft, warm, yet demanding, and deepened very quickly into a breathless, desperate, passionate embrace. Iu-Amenitrê's hands gripped onto her bedsheets so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She wanted very much to hold him, to hang in his arms, but it just wasn't an option, not with her injuries. What it would be to be human. Men often looked at her, but she always put them off, simply because she didn't think she was worthy of their attention. Something told her however that Karim might still have kissed her even if she had tried to discourage him.

Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. The lack of his presence made her eyelids flutter open. He was sitting back on the chair, wide-eyed, almost like he had been stunned.

"I'm, so sorry..." he said, not removing his stare from the opposite wall, "I didn't mean... No I did mean... I meant... I..." he got up from his chair and started pacing, unable to look her in the eye, "I never intended to take advantage m'Lady... I'm sorry..."

Iu-Amenitre watched his back as he flew out of her room, cursing him for not letting her get a word in sideways. Not that she would have known what exactly to say. A cold gust of wind from her window hit her silently as she finally released her bedsheets from underneath her fingertips.

"Don't be..."


End file.
